West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Cum Mean Scholarship

With a view to assisting the meritorious students belonging to economically backward families in the State of West Bengal to pursue higher studies, the Government of West Bengal has introduced  the Swami Vivekananda Merit Cum Means Scholarship Scheme. This scheme provides scholarships to students for pursuing higher studies at educational institutions based in West Bengal. The scheme was revamped in 2016 to cover more number of students as well as to enhance the scholarship amount.

Scope

• The scheme benefits students of Class – XI and XII, and at under Graduate level in Engineering, Medical and Technical / Professional courses besides Under Graduate, Post Graduate level students pursuing General Degree courses. The scholarships are sanctioned to deserving students on merit-cum-means criteria.
• Students pursuing M.Phil courses and Doctoral courses (Non-NET Junior Research Fellow and NET-Lecturership) from State-aided Institutions will come under the purview of this Scholarship Scheme.
• Kanyashree recipients (K-2) pursuing Post Graduate courses in Science, Arts and Commerce stream from Universities of this State after obtaining Under Graduate Degree with 45% marks in aggregate from Institutions of this State will come under the aegis of this Scholarship Scheme.
• The upper ceiling for family income has been fixed at Rs.2,50,000/- per annum.
• Candidates opting for these scholarships and found eligible, will not be allowed to enjoy any other governmental (central/state) scholarship or stipend for the same course/stage of study. However, one time grant or assistance received from any source, or free or partly-free studentship allowed by the host institutions will not debar the students from availing of the benefits of this scheme.

Allocation and rate of scholarship

The basic allocation and rates are as under :

Evaluation criteria

Means

The total family income for the prospective scholars will be not more than Rs. 2,50,000/- per annum. While applying, all students will be required to enclose an Affidavit written on a Non-judicial Stamp Paper valued Rs. 10/- or more, and sworn by his/her parent/guardian before a Notary Public or a first-class magistrate, declaring their total family income from all sources (giving the detailed break-up) during the preceding financial year (i.e. from the 1st of April of the previous year to the 31st of March of the year of applying for the scholarship).

Any deliberate falsification in the Income documents discovered at any stage will be considered as a grievous offence and may invite serious disciplinary actions leading to

• compulsory and immediate refund of the amount of scholarship already enjoyed by the scholar,
• complete forfeiture of his/her right to apply for any governmental scholarship in future and
• may also attract penal provisions of other relevant laws for the time being in force.

Merit

Candidates whose family income is not more than Rs. 2,50,000/- per annum will be judged according to their academic merit in the under noted manner.

For HS - level

The minimum qualifying marks for being considered for award of scholarships will be 75% in aggregate, in Madhyamik Pariksha, and the total marks obtained in the Madhyamik Parkisha excluding pass marks in the additional subject, if any, will be the sole criterion for consideration. Candidates from outside the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education will not be eligible to apply for this scholarship.

For Diploma - level

Students who are enrolled after passing out in Secondary (M.P) examination or its equivalent as stated above in 2016 for first year Diploma (Polytechnic) course (H.S. Examination or its equivalent for Diploma in Pharmacy or Modern Office Practice and Management of two years duration) and after passing out in “West Bengal State Council of Vocational Education and Training “ courses, which is equivalent to H.S Examination for 2nd year Diploma (Polytechnic) courses on lateral entry basis, will be eligible to apply. Candidates must obtain at least 75% marks in aggregate in the qualifying examination for applying the scholarship (excluding the marks secured in the optional elective subject, if any).

For UG - level

The minimum qualifying marks for being considered for award of scholarships will be 75% in aggregate, in the H.S. Examination conducted by the W.B. Council of H.S. Education/Madrasha Siksha Parishad. For the UG (Arts), UG (Commerce), UG (Science) separate merit lists will be prepared.

For PG - level

Candidates should be graduates securing at least 53% marks in the Honours subject at the graduation level. The marks obtained in Honours subject will be the only deciding criterion academically for award of the PG-level scholarships. Kanyashree recipients (K-2) (married/unmarried) pursuing Post Graduate courses in Science, Arts and Commerce stream from Universities of this State after obtaining Under Graduate Degree with 45% marks in aggregate from Institutions of this State will come under the aegis of this Scholarship Scheme. There is no need to submit Income Certificate and Income Affidavit in respect of Kanyashree students applying for K-3 scholarship under Swami Vivekananda Merit–cum–Means Scholarship Scheme.

Application and sanction process

Candidates for different categories are to submit their applications online in the scholarship portal.

Documents to be uploaded for Fresh and Kanyashree Application:

• Admit Card of Madhyamik Examination or its equivalent
• Mark sheet of Madhyamik Examination or its equivalent (Both sides)
• Admit Card of last Board/Council/University/College examination
• Mark sheet of last Board/Council/University/College examination (Both sides)
• Income certificate of family (Not Applicable for Kanyashree)
• Income Certificate Affidavit (Not Applicable for Kanyashree)
• Domicile certificate as Aadhaar ID/Voter ID/Ration card/Certificate Issued by concerned authority
• Scanned copy of Bank Passbook (1st Page, containing A/C No.)

All eligible candidates would be arranged in descending order (on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination apart from income/means criteria), and scholarship would be sanctioned as per the availability of fund and strictly on the basis of the merit list. Fund is then transferred to the beneficiaries account if the documents are in order.

As the payment will be made by direct beneficiary transfer only, furnishing of Bank details of the applicant, i.e. A/C No., Bank Name, IFS Code of Bank is mandatory. There will be no need to submit hard copy of the application.

Renewal of scholarship

For renewal of scholarship, application must be submitted online to the concerned scholarship sanctioning authority within one month from the date of his/her admission in the next higher class due to promotion by passing in the first attempt. (In case of Semester mode-All Semester Examinations need to be cleared in the first attempt).

Renewal cases (concentrated only at a particular level of study) will be sanctioned subject to good academic performance (Minimum 60% marks should be obtained from Higher Secondary Level to Undergraduate Level at the promotional examination) and 50% marks at Post Graduate Level).

Documents to be uploaded for Renewal Application:

• Copy of the Marksheet of the last examination in the present course of study (Both sides and in case of semester examination system, year wise semester Mark sheets)
• Admission receipt for the promotion to the next higher class
• 1st page of the Bank Passbook and the leaf of the Passbook in which the credited Scholarship amount of last year has been shown.

For more latest information / queries, contact helpdesk.svmcm-wb@gov.in

Source : SVMCM portal