Top Class Education Scholarship for Students with Disabilities 2026-27: up to ₹1.9 lakh in fees, ₹3,000 a month, apply by 31 October
For students with 40% or more disability who got into an institute of excellence notified by DEPwD, for a graduate or postgraduate degree or diploma, with family income up to ₹8 lakh. Reimburses admission and tuition fees up to ₹1.9 lakh a year, and pays ₹3,000 a month to hostellers, ₹2,000 a month as a disability allowance, ₹5,000 a year for books, ₹45,000 once for a computer and ₹30,000 once for assistive devices. Only 300 slots a year, half for women. On the NSP until 31 October 2026.
This is the third and smallest of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities' three main student scholarships. The Pre-Matric one covers Class 9 and 10, the Post-Matric one covers Class 11 up to a postgraduate degree anywhere, and this one — Top Class Education — pays far more, but only at a fixed list of notified institutes and only for 300 students a year.
Who can apply
- You have a benchmark disability, which the guidelines define as 40% or more disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
- You hold a valid disability certificate from the competent authority, and a UDID card or a UDID enrolment
- Total annual family income from all sources is up to ₹8 lakh
- You are pursuing a graduate or postgraduate degree or diploma at one of the institutes of excellence notified by the Department. The list is Annexure I of the scheme guidelines, and the Department adds to or removes from it by notification
- Not more than two children with disabilities of the same parents can hold this scholarship. If the second child is a twin, the twin is also covered
What is not covered: distance-learning, part-time and weekend courses are excluded under every stream. And this award can be taken only once in a lifetime — unlike the Pre- and Post-Matric components, it cannot be granted a second time.
What you get
- Admission fee and tuition fee reimbursed, up to ₹1.90 lakh a year, subject to the actual amount paid
- Library, sports, medical examination and other fees the institute compulsorily charges: up to ₹10,000 a year, subject to actuals
- Maintenance allowance of ₹3,000 a month if you live in a hostel, ₹1,500 a month if you are a day scholar
- A special allowance of ₹2,000 a month for disability-related costs — reader allowance, escort allowance, helper allowance and the like
- ₹5,000 a year for books
- ₹45,000 once, in the first year, for a computer or laptop with accessories. You have to submit the bill or receipt
- ₹30,000 once, in the first year, for aids and assistive devices for your disability, against bills. These must come from the Government's notified Comprehensive List of Aids and Assistive Devices, and you cannot claim this if you have taken assistance under the ADIP scheme in the last three years
The part that decides whether you actually get it
300 slots a year, and that number includes renewal cases. The guidelines are blunt about what follows: fresh cases are considered only against the slots left over after all renewal cases have been processed, so meeting every eligibility condition does not entitle you to the scholarship.
50% of the slots are reserved for female candidates. If not enough eligible women apply, the unused slots go to male candidates.
One more thing worth knowing: the Department is allowed to move slots between the Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Top Class components when one of them does not get enough applications. So the 300 is the planned figure for the year, not a floor.
If you do not get this one
Apply for the Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities instead — same portal, same department, 17,000 slots a year, income ceiling ₹2.5 lakh. It pays less, but the odds are entirely different. You cannot hold both, and you cannot hold this alongside any other scholarship or stipend.
Documents to keep ready
- Disability certificate from the competent authority, and your UDID card or enrolment number
- Income certificate for your parent or guardian
- Proof of admission and the tuition fee receipt from the institute
- Your last qualifying examination certificate
- Aadhaar, for biometric authentication, seeded with your bank account
- Bills for the computer and for any aids and assistive devices you claim
How to apply
Apply on the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in. Complete your One Time Registration first, then apply under the Top Class Education Scholarship for Students with Disabilities and upload the documents above.
Your institution then registers on the portal and verifies your details, and the State's nodal officer processes the list after that. An application your institute has not verified does not reach the Department at all, so submit well before 31 October and tell your college's scholarship cell you have applied.
Dates checked on 5 August 2026. Deadlines in India move without notice, so confirm on the official portal linked above before you apply.
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Published 5 Aug 2026. Dates change without warning, so check the official site before you apply. We never take your application, your documents or your money. You apply directly, always.