The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a public notice dated September 22, 2026, informing all CBSE-affiliated schools about the revised National Scholarship Portal (NSP) framework for Academic Year 2026–27.
The revision follows the Cabinet Secretariat Office Memorandum dated November 12, 2025, which introduced a harmonised framework for scholarship schemes and their de-duplication. CBSE has asked schools to disseminate the information among eligible students, parents and other stakeholders to increase awareness.
Two Broad Categories of Scholarships
Under the revised framework, scholarship schemes are classified into two broad categories:
1. Merit-based Scholarships
These are awarded based on academic performance, ranking, achievements or performance in a competitive/qualifying examination. Examples mentioned in the framework include the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students, and INSPIRE.
2. Welfare-based Scholarships
These provide financial support to students belonging to identified communities, categories or socio-economic groups, with the objective of reducing financial hardship and promoting equity. Examples include Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for SC, ST, OBC and Minority students.
Students Can Receive Merit and Welfare Scholarships
A key provision of the revised framework is that a student receiving a Welfare Scholarship will not be denied a Merit Scholarship if they subsequently become eligible for one.
Similarly, eligibility for a Welfare Scholarship will not be denied merely because the student becomes eligible for a Merit Scholarship.
This change is intended to provide greater clarity and harmonisation across scholarship schemes.
Changes in the NSP Application Process
The revised workflow also introduces changes to the application and verification process.
At the application submission stage:
- Details submitted in the initial application will be retained and reused for subsequent applications.
- Students submitting subsequent applications will only need to provide scheme-specific information and relevant documents.
- If an application is marked defective, applicants can edit scheme-specific details.
- To modify general, academic, institute or course details, all submitted applications will first have to be withdrawn.
Changes at L1 Verification
During L1 verification, tuition fees, admission fees and other non-refundable fee components updated during verification of the first application will be automatically populated in subsequent applications.
The concerned Institute Nodal Officer (INO) will also be able to view all applications submitted by an applicant along with their respective status.
Deficiencies marked during verification will be categorised separately as:
- Scheme-specific deficiencies
- General/academic deficiencies
Changes at L2 Verification
At the L2 verification stage, all applications submitted by an applicant and their respective status will be visible to the concerned L2 Nodal Officers.
This is intended to facilitate consistency in decision-making where a student has applied under different scholarship categories.
For example, where a student applies under both a Welfare-based scheme and a Merit-based scheme, the concerned L2 Nodal Officers will be able to view the other application and its status.
Where deficiencies relate to general or academic details, other applications submitted by the same applicant will automatically be flagged under the “Red Flag” category.
CBSE Advises Schools to Spread Awareness
CBSE has requested the Heads of all affiliated schools to share information regarding the revised NSP framework with eligible students, parents and other stakeholders.
The revised framework is intended to bring greater clarity to scholarship categories and improve coordination in the application and verification process across different scholarship schemes.
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