Innovation In Science Pursuit For Inspired Research (INSPIRE) - Scholarship For Higher Education (SHE)

The scheme "Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)" is a component of the “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)”, which is a flagship programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The scheme aims to attract students to study basic and natural Science subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and pursue research as a career by providing scholarships to interested and deserving students. Under the SHE component, 12,000 scholarships (From the SHE-2017 batch onwards), each valued at ₹ 80,000/- are announced annually to students pursuing Bachelor and Masters level courses in Basic and Natural Science areas.

Tenure

1. Selected candidates will be supported for a maximum period of five years, starting from the 1st year B.Sc., B.S., Int. M.Sc./Int.M.S. or until the completion of the course, whichever is earlier.
2. Continuation of the scholarship for the selected candidates is based on good academic performance in the examinations conducted by the University and upon the recommendation by the Head of the Institution.

The following subjects under Basic and Natural Sciences are within the scope of INSPIRE Scholarship for pursuing B.Sc./B.S./Int. M.Sc./Int. M.S. courses:
(1) Physics (2) Chemistry (3) Mathematics (4) Biology (5) Statistics (6) Geology (7) Astrophysics (8) Astronomy (9) Electronics (10) Botany (11) Zoology (12) Biochemistry (13) Anthropology (14) Microbiology (15) Geophysics (16) Geochemistry (17) Atmospheric Sciences & (18) Oceanic Sciences.
Courses other than these subjects such as Engineering, Medicine, Military Science, Defence Studies, Agriculture, Psychology, Seed Technology, Home Science, Geography, Economics, Education (including B.Sc.-B.Ed. dual degree course), Biotechnology, Computer Science, Computer Applications, Bioinformatics, Instrumentation, Information Technology, Physical Education, courses in Distance Education mode at Open Universities and other professional courses etc. are NOT supported.

1. The scholarship is valued at ₹ 80,000/- per annum.
2. Each candidate will receive an annual scholarship @ ₹ 5000/- per month with a total value of ₹ 60,000/-.
3. All the SHE scholars are required to undertake summer research projects under an active researcher in any recognized research centre across India.
4. A summertime Mentorship grant of ₹ 20,000/- will be paid every year.
5. The scholarship will be transferred to the scholar’s State Bank of India (SBI) bank account directly through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

(a) Meritorious Students with aggregate marks within the top 1% of their Class XII examination of any State/ Central Education Board in India are eligible. In addition, the student must be pursuing courses in Natural and Basic Sciences at the B.Sc., B.S., and Int.M.Sc./M.S. level.
OR
(b) Those students who have secured ranks in the JEE of IIT, AIPMT (within the top 10000 ranks), and are presently pursuing Natural and Basic Science courses in India at the B.Sc., B.S., Int. M.Sc./M.S. level.
OR
(c) Students with aggregate marks within the top 1% of their Class XII examination of any State/ Central Education Board in India and pursuing Integrated M.S. courses in Natural and Basic Sciences at IISERs, NISER and Department of Atomic Energy Centre for the Basic SciencesUniversity of Mumbai and Visva-Bharati, Shanti Niketan.
OR
(d) Students who have been selected under Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) and pursuing Bachelor/Master level courses in Natural Sciences.
OR
(e) National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) scholars, Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) scholars and International Olympiad medallists pursuing Bachelor/ Master level courses in Natural Sciences are also eligible.

Online

Call for Applications

The call for applications will be advertised on the INSPIRE Web Portal.

Application Process

Step 1: Log in to the portal by entering the registered email id as user name and the registered password. If you are already logged in, go to Step 2.
Step 2: Upon logging in, a screen will appear where you have to click the ‘Scholarship’ link.
Step 3: Click the Related Link icon in the right-hand corner. To view and print the Offer Letter, please click the ‘View Offer Letter’ link. Please read the Offer Letter carefully before going to Step 4.
Step 4: Fill in the State Bank of India Account details carefully in the respective fields. Upload a scanned copy of the first page of the SBI passbook containing the account number and name.
Step 5: Press Submit button. After the successful submission of bank details, a pop-up message will appear stating that ‘Your bank details updated successfully’.
Step 6: Go to the Related Link icon. Click the ‘Documents for BSc/MSc’ icon.
Step 7: Upload your documents one by one by selecting ‘Documents for the year’, ‘Mark Sheets’ and ‘Performance Report’.
Step 8: Press Submit button. After successful submission of Performance Reports and Mark Sheets, a pop-up message will appear stating that ‘Documents uploaded and submitted for approval. You will be notified if your documents are incomplete or need further clarification’.
Step 9: Press the Logout button.

Intimation of Selection

1. As the Department receives a large number of applications, the selection process on average takes at least four months from the last date of submission of the application.
2. All selected candidates shall receive a Provisional Offer Letter on their web portal account informing them that they are selected for the scholarship. Provisionally selected students are required to log into the online portal to download the offer letter.
3. A list of selected and rejected students will also be displayed on the home page of INSPIRE Web Portal.

NOTE: DO NOT SEND ANY DOCUMENTS BY POST

Official Guidelines for Online Application

During Application

1. Class XII Mark Sheets(mandatory)
2. Class X Mark Sheet/Certificate (for proof of date of birth)(mandatory)
3. Endorsement Certificate in the prescribed format, signed by the Principal of the College/Director of the Institute/Registrar of the University (mandatory)1. Eligibility Note/Advisory Note (if provided by the State/Central Board) (not mandatory)
4. Front page of SBI Bank Passbook (containing Account Number and your name)
5. BSc/Int. MSc Performance Report1. BSc/Int. MSc. annual or semester Mark Sheets
   

Upon Selection

Selected candidates will have to upload the required documents on their web portal within the prescribed time limit (time limit mentioned in the offer letter) for further consideration by the Department.