AICTE Student Scholarships 2026-27: Complete List, Eligibility, Benefits and Application Dates

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) provides scholarships and other financial support to eligible students pursuing technical education in India. Its student development schemes include support for girls, students with disabilities, economically vulnerable students, postgraduate engineering students, research scholars, and students participating in international competitions.

The official AICTE Students Development Schemes page lists these programmes. The National Scholarship Portal (NSP) currently shows applications for several AICTE schemes for the 2026-27 academic year, with 31 October 2026 as the student application deadline for the listed open schemes.

One important distinction: not every scheme on AICTE’s website is a currently open scholarship application. Some are fellowships, research grants, travel assistance, or schemes whose latest application window must be checked separately.

AICTE Scholarship Schemes 2026-27: Overview

Students should identify the scheme that matches their course, academic level, and personal eligibility before applying.

The amounts above come from AICTE scheme information and published guidelines. The availability of a scheme, the number of awards, renewal conditions and the applicable academic-year rules must be checked separately.

1. AICTE Pragati Scholarship for Girl Students

The Pragati Scholarship supports eligible girls pursuing technical education in AICTE-approved institutions.

Financial benefit: 50,000 per year, subject to the scheme’s applicable conditions.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants generally need to meet the following requirements:

• Be a girl student admitted to an eligible technical diploma or degree programme in an AICTE-approved institution.
• Be admitted to the first year or the second year through lateral entry, as applicable under the scheme guidelines.
• Have annual family income of no more than ₹8 lakh from all sources.
• Meet the applicable merit, admission and verification requirements.

The scheme’s guidelines determine the number of scholarships available, selection procedure and renewal conditions.

How to apply

Eligible applicants should check the Pragati Scholarship listing on the National Scholarship Portal and read the relevant guidelines before submitting their applications.

2. AICTE Saksham Scholarship for Students with Disabilities

The Saksham Scholarship provides financial assistance to eligible students with disabilities pursuing technical diploma or degree programmes.

Financial benefit: 50,000 per year under the published scheme information.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants should generally:

• Have a benchmark disability of at least 40%, subject to the applicable scheme rules.
• Be admitted to an eligible diploma or degree programme in an AICTE-approved institution.
• Meet the prescribed family-income limit, generally ₹8 lakh per annum.
• Satisfy the relevant admission, documentation and verification requirements.

Applicants should check the current guidelines for the accepted disability certificate, course conditions and renewal requirements.

Application portal

National Scholarship Portal

3. AICTE Swanath Scholarship Scheme

The Swanath Scholarship is intended to support students in specified vulnerable circumstances so that financial difficulties do not prevent them from continuing technical education.

AICTE identifies the following eligible circumstances in its published scheme information:

• Students who are orphans.
• Students whose parent or parents died due to COVID-19.
• Wards of Armed Forces or Central Paramilitary Forces personnel martyred in action.
• Students whose parent has a critical life-threatening disease, or whose parent died or suffered a severe disability above 80% in an accident, as covered by the applicable scheme rules.

Financial benefit: 50,000 per year.

Other eligibility requirements

The published scheme information includes an annual family-income ceiling of ₹8 lakh and enrolment in an eligible AICTE-approved diploma or degree programme. Students receiving another Central Government, State Government or AICTE-sponsored scholarship may be ineligible under the scheme rules.

How to apply

Visit the National Scholarship Portal, select the relevant Swanath scheme and check the applicable documentation requirements.

4. AICTE Post Graduate Scholarship

The AICTE Post Graduate Scholarship supports eligible full-time postgraduate students in specified technical programmes.

Financial benefit: ₹12,400 per month.

Eligible courses

The AICTE scheme page identifies the following programmes:

• M.E.
• M.Tech.
• M.Arch.
• M.Pharm.

Eligibility criteria

Students generally need to:

• Qualify GATE or GPAT, as applicable to their programme and the scheme rules.
• Secure admission to an eligible full-time postgraduate programme.
• Study at an AICTE-approved institution.
• Meet the applicable academic, institutional and scholarship conditions.

The monthly amount is not automatically available to every postgraduate student. Eligibility depends on the qualifying examination, admission and other applicable requirements.

Official portal

AICTE PG Scholarship Portal

5. PM-USP Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

The Special Scholarship Scheme for Students of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh supports eligible students pursuing higher education outside their home regions under the applicable scheme arrangements.

AICTE’s published scheme information describes an allocation of up to 5,000 scholarships and the following financial support structure.

The actual payable amount, course eligibility and coverage are governed by the current scheme rules. These figures should not be interpreted as an unconditional cash payment to every student.

Who can apply?

Eligibility generally depends on the student’s domicile, qualifying examination, admission through the prescribed process, approved institution and other conditions notified by AICTE.

Important 2026-27 status note

The National Scholarship Portal lists the scheme’s renewal application window for 2026-27 through 31 October 2026. Students seeking fresh admission should check the dedicated AICTE scheme portal for the current admission and counselling process.

Official information: AICTE J&K and Ladakh Scholarship Scheme.

6. AICTE YASHASVI Scholarship

YASHASVI stands for Young Achievers’ Scholarship and Holistic Academic Skills Venture Initiative. It encourages students to pursue technical education in selected core engineering branches.

The published guidelines cover disciplines including Civil, Chemical, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Mechanical, Agricultural Engineering and Textile Technology.

Financial benefits

• Degree students: 50,000 per year, for up to four years for first-year entrants or three years for eligible lateral-entry students.
• Diploma students: 30,000 per year, for up to three years for first-year entrants or two years for eligible lateral-entry students.

Eligibility criteria

The published 2024-25 guidelines specify:

• Admission to the first year of an eligible degree or diploma programme, or the second year through lateral entry.
• Enrolment in an AICTE-approved institution and an eligible core engineering branch.
• Annual family income not exceeding 8 lakh.
• Selection based on the relevant qualifying examination merit.

The published guideline document is for 2024-25. Students should check whether a new application round and revised rules are available for 2026-27 before applying.

Official guidelines: AICTE YASHASVI Scheme Guidelines.

7. AICTE Saraswati Scholarship for Girl Students

The Saraswati Scholarship supports eligible girls pursuing BBA, BCA and BMS degree programmes in AICTE-approved institutions.

Financial benefit

25,000 per year for each eligible year of study, up to a maximum of three years under the published guidelines.

Eligibility criteria

The 2024-25 guidelines specify:

• Admission to the first year of an eligible BBA, BCA or BMS degree.
• A maximum of two eligible girl children per family.
• Annual family income not exceeding 8 lakh.
• Selection based on merit in the qualifying examination.

The guidelines describe a total allocation of 3,110 scholarships per year for the scheme.

Current status: The AICTE page carries the 2024-25 scheme information. A live 2026-27 application window was not confirmed from the information reviewed. Students should check the AICTE website and the relevant scholarship portal for a new notification.

Official guidelines: AICTE Saraswati Scholarship Guidelines.

8. AICTE Doctoral Fellowship

The AICTE Doctoral Fellowship supports eligible full-time research scholars pursuing PhD research in AICTE-approved technical institutions or university departments.

The programme aims to promote research in identified priority areas of technical education.

Who may be eligible?

Applicants must meet the relevant fellowship call’s academic, admission, research-area and institutional requirements. The exact eligibility conditions, award amount, duration and number of available fellowships depend on the applicable notification.

Because these details can change between calls, students should not rely on an amount quoted in an older notice.

Official portal

AICTE Doctoral Fellowship Portal

9. Support to Students for Participating in Competition Abroad (SSPCA)

The SSPCA scheme helps eligible technical students participate in selected international competitions.

It is a travel and participation support scheme rather than a conventional annual scholarship.

Financial benefit

AICTE’s SSPCA information describes assistance of up to ₹2 lakh per student on a reimbursement basis. Eligible expenses may include international and domestic travel, registration fees, visa fees, accommodation, boarding, travel insurance and approved competition-related equipment costs.

Eligibility

The official portal describes eligibility for students or teams from AICTE-approved institutions and specified courses, including diploma, engineering, integrated M.Tech, postgraduate technical, MBA, MCA and hotel management programmes.

Students or teams must meet the competition and prior achievement requirements specified by the scheme. Proposals generally need to be submitted at least three months before the event.

Official portal

AICTE SSPCA

Students should read the current guidelines carefully because approval is required and expenses are reimbursed subject to scheme conditions.

10. AICTE AURA Scheme

AURA stands for Augmenting Utilization of Research Assets. It supports the use of research facilities mapped through the India Science, Technology and Engineering Facilities Map (I-STEM).

AICTE’s published information describes financial assistance of up to ₹2 lakh for eligible research and mobility activities involving specified students and researchers.

The programme is intended to help participants use public-funded research equipment and facilities rather than provide a general annual scholarship to every student.

Students should check the current call, eligible applicant categories, approved research activity, budget limits and application procedure before submitting a proposal.

Official information is available through the AICTE Students Development Schemes page.

Other AICTE Student Development Opportunities

In addition to the schemes listed above, AICTE’s student development page includes initiatives that may provide educational, research or international exposure opportunities.

These initiatives should not be confused with scholarships that automatically pay a fixed annual amount to every eligible student. Each programme has its own selection procedure, application window and funding conditions.

AICTE Scholarship Application Dates 2026-27

As of 22 October 2026, the National Scholarship Portal lists the following AICTE scholarship applications as open, with the student application deadline of 31 October 2026.

The portal also lists verification deadlines after the student application deadline. Students should submit their applications early enough for their institutions to verify them. <Cite refs={[“turn395376view1”]}/>

Check the live portal before applying: National Scholarship Portal.

Documents Commonly Required for AICTE Scholarships

The exact documents vary by scheme, but applicants should prepare the following where applicable:

1. Aadhaar or another identification document accepted under the scheme.
2. Recent photograph and signature, if required.
3. Admission letter or institutional enrolment certificate.
4. Previous academic marksheets and certificates.
5. Family-income certificate issued by the competent authority.
6. Bank account details in the student’s name, with Aadhaar seeding where required.
7. Disability certificate for eligible Saksham applicants.
8. Death certificates, service certificates or other supporting documents for Swanath applicants, depending on the applicable category.
9. Category certificate, where required by the scheme.
10. Any additional documents listed in the official notification.

Applicants should use the document checklist provided on the relevant portal rather than assume that the same documents are required for every scholarship.

How to Apply for an AICTE Scholarship

For scholarships listed on the National Scholarship Portal:

1. Visit https://scholarships.gov.in/.
2. Register or sign in through the student section.
3. Select the relevant AICTE scholarship for the applicable academic year.
4. Read the scheme specifications and eligibility criteria.
5. Enter the required personal, academic and bank details.
6. Upload the prescribed documents.
7. Review the application carefully and submit it.
8. Track the application status and respond to any defect or verification request.
9. Ensure the institution completes verification within the prescribed timeline.

For schemes using a separate AICTE portal, follow the application instructions on that scheme’s official website.

A successful online submission does not guarantee an award. Applications are subject to eligibility checks, institutional verification, selection criteria and availability of scholarships.

Conclusion

AICTE offers several forms of support for students pursuing technical education, including Pragati, Saksham, Swanath, postgraduate scholarships, research fellowships and international competition assistance.

For students applying in the 2026-27 academic year, the most urgent step is to check the live National Scholarship Portal. The listed Pragati, Saksham and Swanath application windows currently show 31 October 2026 as the deadline.

Before applying, candidates should verify their course eligibility, income limits, required documents, renewal conditions and any restrictions on receiving other financial assistance. Official notifications should always take priority over older scholarship summaries or third-party reports.