Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has announced a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for availing scholarships under the ‘Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protshana Yojana’ for the 2024–25 academic year.
Officials said that the scholarship money will be disbursed to the beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
As per the SOP, if a student receives the e-scholarship in a particular year and then leaves the educational institution, he or she will not be eligible to receive the scholarship again in the first year at his or her new college. Such student can, however, avail the scholarship from the second year of his or her new course, subject t
o the availability of the unused quota at the new institution.
Aspirants for scholarship need to submit their academic records, entrance examination marksheets, or transcripts to qualify. Students from outside Odisha or those enrolled in non-SAMS institutions must mandatorily upload their marksheets through DigiLocker.
Age limits for eligibility have also been specified. Students above 25 years for undergraduate courses, and above 30 years for postgraduate, technical, and professional courses will not be eligible for the e-scholarship.
A committee constituted by the District Collector will finalise the list of eligible beneficiaries. This committee will also complete the required proof document as instructed by the Collector and submit the beneficiary list with proper signatures. The prescribed format will clearly indicate whether each student qualifies for the scholarship.
This apart, educational institutions seeking inclusion under the State Scholarship Portal must formally request approval from the Higher Education Department through email, the SOP stated.