Special Scholarship Scheme for the Students of Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (SSS J&K and Ladakh) 2026‑27

The Special Scholarship Scheme for the Students of Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is usually called PMSSS. It helps students from the two UTs study at colleges outside them. The official title places it under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojana. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) runs it under the Ministry of Education .

The scholarship pays an academic fee to the college, plus a maintenance allowance for living costs. To qualify, you need a J&K or Ladakh domicile, a Class 12 pass from a JKBOSE or CBSE school in the two UTs, and a family income of Rs. 8.00 lakh or less a year.

What you get

The scheme has 5,000 fresh scholarships a year, split into 2,070 for general degree courses, 2,830 for professional and engineering courses and 100 for medical courses. The fee ceiling depends on the stream. The upper ceiling for academic fee, including all admissible components, is Rs. 1.25 lakh for professional and engineering, Rs. 30,000 for general, and Rs. 3 lakh for medical. These are the rates in the 2025-26 scheme specification. I could not find a separate 2026-27 rate sheet in the official pages I could read.

The academic fee goes straight to the institution, at the claimed amount or the fee rate set by the regulator, whichever is less. If the college charges more than the ceiling, neither AICTE pays the extra nor the college may pass it to you. The maintenance allowance is the same for every stream and goes to your bank account through DBT via PFMS . Payments wait until the duplicate check on the National Scholarship Portal and the physical joining report are complete.

Reserved seats follow the UT reservation norms for SC, ST and SEBC students. The break-up in the scheme text gives 8% for Scheduled Castes and 20% for Scheduled Tribes.

Who can apply

• Domicile: you must hold a domicile certificate of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh .
• Class 12: your Class 12 must come from JKBOSE or a CBSE affiliated school in the two UTs .
• Lateral entry: diploma holders need an engineering diploma from a polytechnic recognised by the Directorate of Technical Education of the UTs . Lateral entry depends on vacant seats of the previous year, in the engineering stream only .
• Income: family income of Rs. 8.00 lakh or less a year .
• Medical: MBBS and BDS applicants must qualify in NEET .
• Not eligible: open university students, diploma course students and postgraduate students . Admission through the management quota does not count .
• Not eligible: anyone already getting another central, state or UT government scholarship, or one from an autonomous body under them . Students who already hold this scholarship cannot apply again .
• Age and marks: the parts of the official guidelines I could read do not set a minimum mark or an age limit.

How to apply

For the 2026-27 session, Phase II registration ran on the National Scholarship Portal (scholarships.gov.in). The scheme rules also require online application on the AICTE portal, with document verification at a facilitation centre . Follow these steps:

1. Register on the AICTE portal at aicte-jk-scholarship-gov.in. Medical applicants register with their NEET roll number, and the details must match the particulars given at Class 12 registration .
2. Fill in the form and upload scanned copies of your documents, listed below.
3. Take your original documents to the nearest Facilitation-cum-Document Verification Centre. Facilitation centres help with the online application and check the original documents.
4. After the merit list is published, log in and choose institutes and courses from the list shown in your account .
5. Attend online counselling for seat allotment. Allotment depends on your choices and on whether scholarships are still available .
6. Join only an institute on the list. Admission elsewhere means no scholarship, except for MBBS, BDS and allied medical courses, and certain central or state government institutions.

Documents you need

• Domicile certificate of J&K or Ladakh UT .
• Class 12 and Class 10 certificates . For diploma applicants, the polytechnic diploma certificate .
• Income certificate from the competent authority of the UT .
• Family income certificate issued by a Tehsildar or equivalent, a Class 10 marksheet and an Aadhaar number .
• Caste certificate for reserved seats, issued by UT authorities .
• Disability certificate at 40% and above, if you claim it .
• Bank account: it must be a savings account in the student’s own name, linked to Aadhaar. No-frill, minor, parents’, non-operative and joint accounts do not qualify .

How students are selected

A merit list is prepared for Class 12 and lateral entry students and shown on the student portal. Final seats come through online counselling, subject to choice filling and the availability of scholarships.

Renewal

Scholarships are renewed in later classes, subject to good conduct and attendance as the institution prescribes. If you are not promoted, the scholarship can continue in the following year under conditions set out in the guidelines. The excerpt I could read does not give those conditions in full, so check the guidelines before you rely on this.

Important dates

For 2026-27, the AICTE SSSJKL Cell set 31 October 2026 as the last date for student registration, and 15 November 2026 as the last date for institution verification. That student date has now passed. Failure to complete institution verification in time may affect students’ eligibility. Ask your institution whether it has verified your application. I could not confirm the 2026-27 AICTE portal dates from an official page, so check the portal for any later window.