Inspire Scholarship 2026-27 – Eligibility, Application, Status Check, and Benefits

by Urvashi Khandelwal 3 views0

Inspire Scholarship

The Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Innovation has started the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme under which the Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) is offered to the students. Through the Inspire Scholarship, every year, more than 10,000 students who are pursuing UG & PG programs in Natural Sciences are offered financial assistance of about Rs. 80,000/-, annually.

Through this blog, students will be able to obtain in-depth information about the Inspire Scholarship 2026-27 like application process, benefits, beneficiary amount, eligibility criteria, and the list goes on with many others.

Inspire Scholarship: Highlights

By referring to the following table, students can know about the key highlights of the Inspire Scholarships 2026:

Particular Details
Scholarship Name Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)
Offered By Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Innovation, Government of India
Type Merit-Based Scholarship
Eligible Programs B.Sc / BS / B.Sc with Research / Integrated M.Sc / Integrated MS
Application Mode Online
Beneficiary Amount Rs. 80,000/-
Total Number of Awarded Students More than 10,000
Official Inspire Scholarship Portal ‘online-inspire.gov.in’

Inspire Scholarship: Courses Covered

To avail the Inspire Scholarship 2026, students should be pursuing B.Sc / BS / B.Sc with Research / Integrated M.Sc / Integrated MS in the disciplines mentioned in the following table:

Disciplines
Physics Chemistry
Biology Statistics
Geology Astrophysics
Astronomy Electronics
Botany Zoology
Biochemistry Anthropology
Microbiology Geophysics
Geochemistry Atmospheric Sciences
Oceanic Sciences

Also Check: Tata Pankh Scholarship


Inspire Scholarship: Benefits

The Inspire Scholarship benefits students to pursue their higher education in Natural Sciences without any financial burden. The total amount offered to the students via this scholarship is Rs. 80,000/- yearly (upto 5 years or till course completion, whichever is earlier).

Under this scholarship scheme, each eligible student gets Rs. 5000/- per month which means Rs. 60,000/- annually. Additionally, every SHE scholar has to take on the summer research projects under an active researcher in any recognised research centre across India. For the same, students will get Rs. 20,000/- annually as a Summer Time Mentorship Grant.


Inspire Scholarship: Eligibility Criteria

Students who belong to the age group of 17 to 22 years can avail Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) by satisfying any one of the following Inspire Scholarship eligibility criteria:

  • Students must be meritorious with aggregate marks within Top 1% of their Class 12th examination of any State / Central Education Board in India. Additionally, students should be pursuing programs like B.Sc, BS, and Integrated M.Sc / MS.
  • Passed JEE / AIPMAT within top 10,000 ranks and should currently be studying
    Sc, BS or Integrated M.Sc / MS programs.
  • Candidates need to have requisite marks in aggregate within Top 1% of their 12th Standard examination from any recognised Board in India. Along with this, students should be pursuing MS courses in Natural and Basic Sciences at IISERs, NISER and Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Basic SciencesUniversity of Mumbai and Visva-Bharati, Shanti Niketan.
  • Selected under Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) and pursuing Bachelor’s / Master’s level courses in Natural Sciences.
  • Scholars of National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) and Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) along with International Olympiad medalists who are studying UG / PG programs in Natural Sciences.

Continuation of Scholarship

In order to continue the Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) in subsequent years, students need to obtain at least 60% marks / more than or equal to 7 GPA in the University / College / Institute level examination in 1st attempt.

However, if any student fails to align with the specified criteria then their scholarship will be forfeited and will be resumed in the next year only if they satisfy the conditions.


Inspire Scholarship: Steps to Register and Apply

Students need to follow the below-given steps to apply online for Inspire Scholarship:

Step 1: Visit the Inspire Scholarship portal i.e., ‘online-inspire.gov.in’.

Step 2: Click on ‘New User? Register Here’ tab on the homepage to begin with the registration process.

*Already registered candidates can directly do the Inspire scholarship login by entering Login ID and Password.

Step 3: Fill in all the basic details like salutation, candidate’s name, gender, mobile number, DOB, email ID, scheme, identification details, and others.

Step 4: Now, enter the ‘Captcha’ and press ‘Submit’ icon.

Step 5: After submitting, login with the received credentials and select the Scholarship tab.

Step 6: Once logged in, fill-in all the requisite details of the application form like Personal Information, Academic Details, Contact Information, and others.

Step 7: Afterwards, upload all the asked documents in requisite format.

Step 8: Later on, cross check all the filled information for avoiding accuracy and then submit the form to complete the process.


Inspire Scholarship: Documents Required

During the Inspire Scholarship application process, eligible students are required to submit the list of below-given documents:

  • Passport Size Photograph
  • Class 10th & 12th Marksheet
  • Endorsement Certificate signed by the Principal of the College / Director of the Institute / Registrar of the University
  • Eligibility Note / Advisory Note (If Available)
  • Certificate specifying rank of award in JEE Main / JEE Advanced / NEET / KVPY / JBNSTS / NTSE / International Olympic Medallists (If Applicable)

* Passport Size Photograph of the students should be uploaded in the JPEG format with the maximum file size of 50 KB. However, all the other documents need to be scanned and uploaded in PDF format with a maximum file size of 1MB.

Also Check: MPTAAS Scholarship


Inspire Scholarship: Status Check

For the Inspire Scholarship status check, students are required to follow the steps mentioned below:

  • Step 1: Visit the application portal i.e., ‘online-inspire.gov.in’.
  • Step 2: Login with the required credentials which are Login ID and Password.
  • Step 3: Enter the Application Reference Number to check the status of the scholarship.

Also, the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Innovation informs the selected students for the scholarships by sending an official mail to the students to their registered email and also displays the list on the home page of the official website.


Inspire Scholarship: Selection Process

For the Inspire Scholarship (SHE), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Innovation follows a transparent selection process. Under this scheme, a large number of applications are received by the authority, leading the selection process to take on an average at least 4 months.

Check the following details to know about the Inspire Scholarship selection process:

  • Application & Screening: Firstly, students submit online applications and then their application goes under screening for verification purposes of eligibility and documents.
  • Merit List: On the basis of marks in Class 12th, JEE or eligibility under KVPY / NTSE, etc., the merit list is generated.
  • Offer Letter: Afterwards, students who are selected get the Provisional Offer Letter on their web portal account.
  • Final Confirmation: Confirmation is done once the documents are uploaded within the specified deadline.

Note: In a year, if more than 10,000 applications for the scholarships have been received then the authority selects the students on the basis of Board Inclusive Model.


Common Queries

Below-given are some of the frequently asked questions about the Inspire Scholarship 2026:

Q.1 How much amount is offered to the students via the Inspire Scholarship (SHE)?

Through the Scholarship for Higher Education, students get a total of Rs. 80,000/-, annually like Rs. 5000/- per month (Rs. 60,000/-) and Rs. 20,000/- as a Summer Time Mentorship Grant.

Q.2 Who can apply for Inspire Scholarship 2026-27?

Students who are pursuing UG / PG programs in Natural Sciences discipline and are under the age group of 17 to 22 years can apply for Inspire Scholarship (SHE).

Q.3 What is the mode for the students to apply for the Inspire Scholarship?

Students need to visit its application portal to apply online for the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) SHE scheme.

Q.4 How many students are awarded scholarships every year?

The Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Innovation provides Inspire Scholarship to more than 10,000 students in a year.

Q.5 Does the DST follow any selection process for Inspire Scholarship?

Yes, a transparent selection process is followed to offer scholarships to the students and it includes steps like application & screening, merit list, offer letter, and final confirmation.

Also Check: Har Chhatravratti Scholarship


Conclusion

To conclude, under the Inspire scheme, Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) is offered to the Natural Sciences students pursuing UG & PG programs like BS, B.Sc, and others. This scholarship enables the students to get financial support till the tenure of their program and also aims to increase the rate of talented youths in the Science discipline.

Through this scholarship, every eligible student gets mentorship support and Rs. 80,000/- annually. Additionally, to apply for this scholarship, students need to be between the age group of 17 to 22 years.

Loading...