NMMSS 2026-27: Apply by November 15

The Ministry of Education has extended the application deadline for the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) for the 2026-27 academic year to November 15, 2026. This extension aims to provide additional time for students to complete their application process on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP).

Applications for the NMMSS 2026-27 have been open since June 1, 2026, with previous deadlines including September 30, 2026, and October 31, 2026. The Ministry has also revised the schedule for the subsequent verification of applications by institute and district-level authorities.

Revised Application and Verification Schedule

The Ministry of Education has set new deadlines for both student application submissions and the verification processes. Students who have not yet applied must complete their One-Time Registration (OTR) and submit their forms by the revised deadline. The verification process, which follows the application submission, has also been adjusted to accommodate the extended application period.

As of October 30, 2026, a total of 2,90,014 applications had been submitted under the NMMSS. This includes 90,483 fresh applications and 1,99,531 applications for scholarship renewal. The scheme is administered by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Education.

The revised dates for the NMMSS 2026-27 application and verification are detailed below:

About the National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

The National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) is a Central Sector Scheme designed to support meritorious students from economically weaker families. Its primary objective is to encourage these students to continue their education beyond the elementary stage and to reduce school dropouts after Class 8. The scheme awards one lakh fresh scholarships every year to eligible Class 9 students.

Selected students receive a scholarship of Rs 12,000 per year, which is transferred directly to their bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. The scholarship is initially awarded to eligible students in Class 9 and can be renewed for Classes 10, 11, and 12, subject to prescribed academic requirements.

Eligibility Criteria for NMMSS

To be eligible for the NMMSS, students must meet specific criteria. They must be studying in state government, government-aided, or local body schools. To appear for the selection test, students must have secured at least 55% marks or an equivalent grade in Class 7. A relaxation of five percentage points in Class 7 marks is provided for students belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories.

In addition, the annual income of the student’s parents from all sources should not exceed Rs 3.5 lakh. Students are required to qualify in a selection examination conducted by their respective state or Union Territory governments to be considered for the scholarship.

Further reading

• NEET SS 2026 application window open: apply by 18 November
• Jharkhand NEET MDS 2026 Round 3 counselling registration begins: apply by November 7
• CEED 2027 registration extended: apply by November 5 with regular fee
• UCEED 2027 registration extended: apply by 5 November
• UPESSC PGT, TGT recruitment: apply for 17,735 TGT posts by 23 November

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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