Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Post-Matric Scholarship for OBC, EBC and DNT Students (Gujarat) 2026‑27

The central government has formulated an umbrella scheme for OBC, EBC and DNT students, called PM YASASVI, with five sub-schemes. Its post-matric part gives financial assistance to the OBC, EBC and DNT students studying at post-matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. The state that a student is permanently settled in makes the award, so Gujarat students apply through the Gujarat process.

This page uses the central guidelines, the official rulebook for the scheme. The Gujarat notice for 2026-27 was not among the official pages I could open, so check the Gujarat portal for its dates and any state rules before you apply.

What you get

The yearly amount depends on your course group and covers the whole course. It has an academic allowance and, for some groups, a tuition fee. The central rates are:

Group 1 includes professional courses in medicine, engineering, technology, planning, architecture and management. Law degrees also fall in Group 1. Group 2 covers courses such as B.Pharm and B.Nursing. Group 3 covers BA, B.Sc and B.Com, and the postgraduate versions of those courses. Group 4 covers post-Class 10 non-degree courses such as Class 11 and 12, ITI courses and three-year polytechnic diplomas.

The state government may top up the academic allowance from its own resources, so check the Gujarat notice for any extra amount. An eligible student can take admission without paying tuition and hostel fees first, using a freeship card issued by the state. The scholarship money is paid straight into the student’s bank account by direct benefit transfer, through an Aadhaar-linked route.

Who can apply

• You must be an Indian national who belongs to an OBC, EBC or DNT community notified by the Centre or the state.
• Your category must be recognised for your home state, and you must have passed matriculation or a higher examination from a recognised board or university.
• Students whose annual family income is up to Rs. 2.50 lakh are eligible under the scheme.
• If you are employed, the combined income of you and your parents or guardians must stay within Rs. 2.50 lakh a year.
• Eligible courses include Intermediate or Senior Secondary, diploma, long-term vocational certificates, graduate and postgraduate courses, in recognised institutions. The institution needs an AISHE or UDISE code. From 2025-26 onwards, participating institutions must hold NAAC or NBA accreditation.
• The guidelines do not set an age limit. Each institution decides the age ceiling for regular admission.

You cannot apply in these cases:

• If you have passed one stage and are studying the same stage in another subject, such as a B.Sc after a BA, you are not eligible.
• Someone who has finished one professional line and starts another, such as an LLB after a B.Ed, is not eligible.
• Students admitted through management, NRI, or spot admission seats, without a merit process, are not eligible.
• You cannot hold another scholarship or stipend. If you are offered two, you choose the more beneficial one and inform the head of your institution.
• Correspondence or online students are eligible only for courses in central or state universities, and they do not get the academic allowance.
• Only two sons of the same parents can receive the scholarship. The limit does not apply to daughters.

How to apply

1. State governments announce each year’s scheme details and invite applications through their portals and advertisements. Check the Gujarat notice for the current window.
2. Register on the state scholarship portal well before the date you expect to join your course. Give your Aadhaar number and the course you plan to take, and sign an undertaking to pay the institution’s charges within seven working days of receiving the money.
3. On the day of admission, the institution applies on the portal for you and confirms you are a bonafide student on the same course as your freeship card.
4. States are expected to run their own portals and share data with the central portal at scholarships.gov.in. Use the Gujarat portal named in the Gujarat notice.

Documents you need

• A passport-size photograph, copies of certificates for each diploma, degree or examination passed, a caste certificate signed by an authorised officer, and a valid income certificate issued by the competent authority in the form the state prescribes.
• Your Aadhaar number is required when you register for the freeship card.
• The income certificate is needed once, at admission, for courses that run for more than one year.

The central guidelines do not name the exact Gujarat caste or income certificate format. Check the Gujarat notice for that.

How students are selected

All eligible OBC, EBC and DNT candidates are to get the scholarship, subject to the scheme’s eligibility conditions. The scheme has limited funds, and the central government cannot meet the full demand of the states. Renewal cases are funded first from central assistance, and the balance goes to new cases. When funds are short, students of government institutions get priority over students of aided and unaided private institutions. States set merit-cum-means criteria for choosing students within their available funds.

Renewal

The award continues until the course ends, provided you make satisfactory academic progress and keep 75% attendance each academic year. Attendance is tracked through the Aadhaar-based attendance system. Renewal depends on your promotion to the next class and on the institution confirming that you have rejoined the same course. The guidelines say renewal should be automatic and should not need a fresh application. If you fail a class and join it again as a regular student, you get scholarship for one more year or the actual period, whichever is shorter.

Important dates

The official pages I could open do not give a Gujarat last date for 2026-27. The central guidelines give a funding calendar, not a student deadline. In that calendar, student portal registration opens on 1 April and closes on 30 June, and state payments by DBT are due by 30 September. Unofficial listings have shown a Gujarat window of 6 July to 30 September 2026, but I could not confirm it from an official page. If that window has passed, watch the Gujarat portal for any reopening notice.

The Government of India can change the scheme’s provisions at any time.