Rajendra College, Orissa Scholarships & Eligibility

Rajendra College, now operating with expanded academic autonomy as Rajendra University, provides a robust system of financial assistance, state endowments, and institutional merit incentives. Positioned in the western belt of Odisha, the university prioritizes educational equity and inclusivity. It ensures that students from economically weaker sections (EWS), tribal communities, and meritorious academic backgrounds across undergraduate (+3 Arts, Science, Commerce) and postgraduate streams can pursue higher education without financial distress.

Scholarships at Rajendra University are disbursed through multiple channels, including the centralized e-Scholarship portal of the Government of Odisha, national ministries, and local endowment trusts.

Types of Scholarships

The welfare and financial aid framework at Rajendra University is categorized into state-sponsored initiatives, central welfare schemes, and specialized institutional or merit-based awards.

1. State Government of Odisha Scholarships

The Government of Odisha provides comprehensive financial assistance directly aligned with the SAMS Odisha academic framework, managed through the State Scholarship Portal:

• PRERANA Scholarship (Post-Matric Scholarship): This is the flagship welfare scheme for students belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC), and Other Backward Classes (OBC/SEBC) groups. It offers complete tuition fee reimbursement, maintenance allowances, and pocket money.

• E-Medhabruti (Odisha State Merit Scholarship): Awarded exclusively on a merit basis to students demonstrating outstanding performance in their prior qualifying examinations (10+2 for UG applicants and Graduation for PG applicants). Meritorious students receive fixed annual stipends to offset their academic expenses.

• Gopabandhu Sikhya Sahayata Yojana: Designed for the children of single mothers, weavers, agricultural laborers, and families facing severe economic distress. It provides targeted financial aid to cover admission and tuition costs.

• Kalia Scholarship: Created for the children of beneficiaries under the state's KALIA scheme (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation), ensuring that the dependents of small farmers and landless cultivators receive full financial support for professional and general degree courses.

• Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Bhasabruti: A specialized language incentive scholarship awarded to undergraduate honors students pursuing Odia as their core discipline, aimed at promoting regional linguistic research.

2. Central and National Level Scholarships

Students at Rajendra University are eligible to apply for numerous central schemes integrated via the National Scholarship Portal (NSP):

• PM-USP (Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students): Awarded to top-tier scorers in the Class 12 board examinations whose family income falls below a designated threshold. It grants standard financial aid for three years of undergraduate study.

• Post-Matric Scholarship for Minorities: Dedicated financial assistance for students belonging to notified minority communities (such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis).

• UGC PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child: A prestigious national fellowship awarded to female students who are the only child in their family and are enrolled in a regular postgraduate course at the university.

3. Institutional Financial Aid and Endowments

Beyond governmental frameworks, Rajendra University utilizes localized corpus funds and contributions from its historic alumni network to distribute merit rewards:

• Social Service Guild (SSG) Aid: Financial aid disbursed directly by the university's student welfare board to provide partial fee waivers, textbook support, and exam fee concessions to students facing sudden emergencies or extreme poverty.

• Merit Day Rewards and Memorial Medals: Cash prizes and book grants presented during annual university day celebrations to department toppers who score the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in their semester examinations.

Eligibility Criteria

To maintain transparency and ensure proper allocation of funds, Rajendra University strictly enforces the eligibility criteria set by respective sponsoring bodies:

Means-Based (Income) Criteria

• PRERANA (SC/ST): The annual gross family income from all sources must not exceed INR 2,50,000.

• PRERANA (OBC/SEBC): The annual family income ceiling is restricted to INR 1,00,000, coupled with mandatory verification of the non-creamy layer status.

• E-Medhabruti & PM-USP (NSP): The maximum annual family income threshold is generally capped between INR 4,50,000 and INR 6,00,000, depending on specific state and central updates.

• General Financial Aid (SSG): Applicants must produce a valid Income Certificate or a Below Poverty Line (BPL) / Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) card issued by a competent revenue authority (such as a Tahsildar).

Merit-Based Criteria

• E-Medhabruti: Students must secure a minimum of 60% aggregate marks in the preceding qualifying examination (Higher Secondary or Graduation) without any backlogs or academic breaks.

• National Scholarships: Applicants are typically required to be within the top 20th percentile of their respective board results or maintain a minimum of 50% to 55% marks to ensure annual renewal.

Institutional and Conduct Parameters

• Minimum Attendance: Students must maintain a minimum of 75% classroom attendance across all semesters to remain eligible for both government and institutional scholarship disbursements.

• Academic Discipline: Financial aid may be suspended if a student participates in ragging, faces disciplinary action by the university proctorial board, or deliberately neglects regular internal evaluations.

Application Process

The application, verification, and disbursement cycle at Rajendra University runs in close synchronization with the academic admission timeline, typically spanning from July to October.

Step-by-Step Online Portal Navigation

1. Digital Registration:

   For state schemes, students must log on to the official State Scholarship Portal Odisha (scholarship.odisha.gov.in). For national schemes, registration must be completed on the National Scholarship Portal (scholarships.gov.in).

2. Profile Integration:

   Applicants must input their unique SAMS Odisha roll number, which automatically syncs their academic details, stream selection, and validated university admission status.

3. Mandatory Document Uploading:

   Candidates must upload scanned, high-resolution copies of the following documents:

   • Recent Passport-size Photograph.

   • Institutional Identity Card or Fee Receipt.

   • Aadhaar Card (fully linked with a seed-verified bank account).

   • Caste Certificate (issued digitally by the competent state revenue authority).

   • Income Certificate (valid for the current financial year).

   • Resident / Nativity Certificate.

   • Marksheets of the 10th, 12th, or Graduation examinations.

4. Institutional Verification Phase:

   Once submitted online, the application enters the university database. The designated Scholarship Nodal Officer at Rajendra University physically scrutinizes the uploaded credentials against the campus admission registers.

5. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):

   Following institutional approval, the application moves to the state or central ministry dashboard for final sanctioning. The scholarship amount, including tuition waivers and maintenance allowances, is directly credited to the student's Aadhaar-seeded bank account via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Students are strongly advised to track active deadlines and verify their bank account seeding status on the official university notice boards or by visiting the institutional website at rajendrauniversity.ac.in.