Scholarship
Innovation In Science Pursuit For Inspired Research (INSPIRE) - Scholarship For Higher Education (SHE)(INSPIRE-SHE)
Overview
About INSPIRE-SHE
INSPIRE-SHE, short for the Scholarship for Higher Education, is administered by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Government of India. It is one arm of the broader INSPIRE programme (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research), which DST launched in 2008 to draw young people towards the study of science. DST describes the programme's basic objective as communicating to the youth the excitement of pursuing science and building the human resource base that the country's research system depends on.
SHE is the part of that programme aimed at students at the undergraduate and postgraduate stages. It provides a cash scholarship, paid each year, to encourage talented students to take up degree courses in the natural and basic sciences and to consider research as a long-term career. DST offers 10,000 such scholarships a year to students in the 17 to 22 age group, and adds a summer mentorship grant meant to place scholars alongside working researchers.
The scholarship is meant for students who have already done well in science: high rankers in the Class 12 board examinations, top scorers in national entrance tests such as JEE and NEET, and holders of recognised merit and olympiad awards, provided they enrol in an eligible science course. Support is limited to the natural and basic sciences, so applied and professional streams such as engineering, medicine and agriculture fall outside it. The exact marks, ranks and course lists that decide who qualifies are fixed by DST.
Sources: Department of Science & Technology - INSPIRE Scheme · myScheme (Government of India) - INSPIRE Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE)
Who runs it
Provider
Ministry Of Science And Technology
Central Government
Department Of Science & Technology
At a glance
Key details
| Level | Central |
| Scheme type | Central Sector Scheme |
| Category | Education & Learning |
| Beneficiaries | Individual |
| Benefit type | Cash |
| Application mode | Online |
Calendar
Important dates
Across all open application cycles.
| Cycle | Stage | Date |
|---|
Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
| (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. | |
| (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. | |
| (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. | |
| (d) Students who have been selected under Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) and pursuing Bachelor/Master level courses in Natural Sciences. | |
| (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. |
What you get
Award & benefits
- The scholarship is valued at ₹ 80,000/- per annum.
- Each candidate will receive an annual scholarship @ ₹ 5000/- per month with a total value of ₹ 60,000/-.
- All the SHE scholars are required to undertake summer research projects under an active researcher in any recognized research centre across India.
- A summertime Mentorship grant of ₹ 20,000/- will be paid every year.
- The scholarship will be transferred to the scholar’s State Bank of India (SBI) bank account directly through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
What to prepare
Documents required
Step by step
How to apply
- 1Apply online
https://www.online-inspire.gov.in/
Source
Official links
Questions
INSPIRE-SHE – FAQ
Disclaimer
Scheme details are compiled from myScheme, the Government of India’s official scheme-discovery platform, and are reproduced without alteration. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility change between cycles — always confirm on the official links above before applying. Expertie does not process applications or charge fees.