Scholarship
SMILE - Comprehensive Rehabilitation For Welfare Of Transgender Persons(SMILE-SCHOLARSHIP)
Overview
About SMILE-SCHOLARSHIP
SMILE, short for Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise, is a central scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. This component sits within its sub-scheme for the comprehensive rehabilitation and welfare of transgender persons, and it is administered by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. It offers a cash scholarship to transgender students who are in school.
The wider SMILE umbrella brings together two strands of work: welfare of transgender persons, and rehabilitation of people engaged in the act of begging. Across both, the department funds education, skill development, medical care and economic linkages. The scholarship described here belongs to the transgender welfare strand and is aimed at keeping transgender students in education.
The award is meant for transgender students in secondary school (classes IX and X) and senior secondary school (classes XI and XII). Its stated purpose is to reduce the incidence of dropout at these stages and to support students' educational aspirations. As a centrally run scheme, it applies to eligible students across states and union territories.
Sources: myScheme - SMILE Scholarship (Ministry of Electronics and IT scheme portal) · Department of Social Justice & Empowerment - Schemes (SMILE listing) · Drishti IAS - SMILE Scheme
Who runs it
Provider
Ministry Of Social Justice and Empowerment
Central Government
Department of Social Justice & Empowerment · Ministry Of Social Justice And Empowerment
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Current | Applications open | 2022-01-01 |
Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
| The student should have a Transgender Certificate issued through the National Portal for Transgender person of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment | |
| The scholarships are open to Indian Nationals only. | |
| The candidate should not be receiving any other central or state government-funded Pre-Matric/Post-Matric Scholarship. No scholarship will be paid to the students under this scheme from the date they accept another scholarship/stipend. The candidate can, however, accept free lodging or a grant or ad-hoc monetary help from the State Government or any other source for the purchase of books, and equipment or for meeting the expenses on board and lodging in addition to the scholarship amount paid under this scheme | |
| Criteria of selection for scholarship | All eligible candidates identifying as Transgender Persons will be considered for scholarship. As the number of scholarships for Transgender persons available in a year is fixed and limited, the selection of applications would be on the basis of total marks achieved in the previous academic year as reflected in the mark sheet. |
| Criteria of selection for scholarship | In case of the same merit, preference shall be generated from the ‘Date of Birth’ criteria of the applicant (senior is preferred) and based on the availability of the slots. |
| Criteria of selection for scholarship | In the Scholarship, students applying for Post-Matric shall be given preference over Pre-Matric Scholarship. |
| Criteria of selection for scholarship | The list of selected candidates would be displayed on the portal at a specified date considering, inter alia, the number of slots available for the scholarship. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Secondary School (IX & X) Transgender Students | The candidate should be a regular, full-time student studying in a Government School or in a School recognized by the Government or a Central/State Board of secondary education. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Secondary School (IX & X) Transgender Students | Migration of students from one school/institute to another, the student shall submit a certificate from the competent authority, in this case, the institution. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Secondary School (IX & X) Transgender Students | Scholarships for studying in any class will be available for only one year. If a student has to repeat a class, the candidate would not get a scholarship for that class for a second (or subsequent) year. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Senior Secondary School (XI & XII) Transgender Students | The candidate should be a regular, full-time student studying in a Government School or in a School recognized by the Government or a Central/State Board of secondary education. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Senior Secondary School (XI & XII) Transgender Students | Migration of students from one school/institute to another, the student shall submit a certificate from the competent authority, in this case, the institution. |
| Conditions for Scholarships for Senior Secondary School (XI & XII) Transgender Students | Scholarships for studying in any class will be available for only one year. If a student has to repeat a class, the candidate would not get a scholarship for that class for a second (or subsequent) year. |
Who cannot apply
Exclusions
- Certificate courses are not covered under the scheme.
What you get
Award & benefits
- A sum of ₹13,500/- shall be given as post-matric / pre-matric scholarships to eligible transgender students once every year.
What to prepare
Documents required
Step by step
How to apply
- 1Apply online
See the official links below for the application portal.
Source
Official links
Questions
SMILE-SCHOLARSHIP – 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.