This is a Maharashtra state scheme, listed on the MahaDBT portal as Payment of Maintenance Allowance to VJNT and SBC Students Studying in Professional Courses and Living in Hostel Attached to Professional Colleges, and the OBC, SEBC, VJNT and SBC Welfare Department runs it. It pays a monthly allowance to VJNT and SBC students in professional courses who live in a hostel linked to their college.
The amount depends on how long your course runs and whether you stay in a college-linked hostel. Each rate is paid for 10 months.
What you get
| Course length | Hostel linked to your college | Not in a government hostel |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 5 years (medical, engineering, agriculture, veterinary, architecture) | Rs. 700 a month, Rs. 7,000 for 10 months | Rs. 1,000 a month, Rs. 10,000 for 10 months |
| 2 to 3 years (engineering diploma, MBA, MSW) | Rs. 500 a month, Rs. 5,000 for 10 months | Rs. 700 a month, Rs. 7,000 for 10 months |
| 2 years or less (B.Ed., D.Ed.) | Rs. 500 a month, Rs. 5,000 for 10 months | Rs. 500 a month, Rs. 5,000 for 10 months |
A seat in a government hostel rules you out of this allowance.
Who can apply
- Only students from the VJNT and SBC categories qualify.
- You also have to qualify for a post-matric scholarship.
- The cap for your parents’ annual income is Rs. 1 lakh.
- The professional courses it names are engineering, medical, veterinary, architecture and agriculture. The rate table also includes diploma, MBA and MSW courses, and B.Ed and D.Ed courses.
- You must have a seat in a hostel linked to your professional college, or a certificate showing no room is free.
- If you live outside a hostel, you must show you applied for a government hostel and a college hostel and did not get a seat.
- The MahaDBT profile asks whether you are a Maharashtra domicile. The scheme page itself sets no separate domicile rule.
- The official pages I read set no minimum mark and no age limit.
Who cannot apply:
- Students who get a seat in a government hostel.
- Moving from a non-professional course to a professional course keeps you eligible, but moving the other way does not.
- The scholarship cannot be taken for more than two professional courses.
How to apply
For the 2026-27 session, fresh and renewal applications go only through the MahaDBT 2.0 portal. The steps below come from the MahaDBT how-to guide.
- Open the MahaDBT 2.0 portal and register. If you have an Aadhaar card, choose Yes, enter your Aadhaar number, and verify with the OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
- If you have no Aadhaar, select No, then say whether you have an enrolment ID; if not, you register without Aadhaar. If you have an enrolment ID, check its status first, then continue.
- Log in and complete your profile: personal, address, parents’ details, current course, past qualification and hostel details. After filling in all the valid details, click Create Profile.
- After filling in 100% of the profile information, suggested eligible schemes will be displayed. Click the scheme you want and answer its scheme-specific questions.
- Under Applied Schemes, you can view your application ID, department, scheme name and status.
- Aadhaar must be linked to your bank account, because DBT payments depend on it.
You can apply for more than one scheme, but the payment goes to only one, based on the preference you set.
The MahaDBT helpline is 022-49150800, and the Chief Minister’s helpline is 1800 120 8040.
Documents you need
The official document list for this scheme is below.
- Caste and income certificates, both issued by a competent authority.
- A caste validity certificate, for professional courses.
- Your college admission receipt.
- Your leaving certificate.
- Your registration or application ID for a post-matric scholarship.
- A warden letter, if you did not get a government or college hostel seat.
- A principal’s letter, if you were admitted to a hostel attached to your college.
- A rent agreement and a student affidavit, if you live outside a hostel.
How students are selected
The official pages I read do not describe a separate selection round for this scheme. Your application is checked by your institute and then by the department. If the department approves it, the status changes to approved. If an officer rejects it, the application moves to the rejected list. An officer can also send the application back with a reason, and you can view it again after logging in. Make the changes asked for, then click Re-apply under My Applied Scheme.
Renewal
Renewal requires passing the previous year’s exam, and every year of the course has to be passed. If you fail a year, you get that year’s allowance but nothing more until you move up a class. The benefit continues until you finish one course. Renewals for 2026-27 go through MahaDBT 2.0.
Important dates
The MahaDBT 1.0 portal was accepting fresh applications for the 2025-26 academic year. For 2026-27, the official pages I read give no closing date. Check the MahaDBT 2.0 portal for the last date before you apply.
Official sources
Checked against these official sources on 5 November 2026.
