AICTE Pragati and Saksham Scholarship: Apply Guide

Pragati and Saksham are scholarship schemes of AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education), the national regulator of technical education, applied for through the National Scholarship Portal (scholarships.gov.in). Pragati is for girl students and Saksham is for students with at least 40 per cent disability, in AICTE-approved technical diploma and degree courses. Both give Rs 50,000 a year for the length of the course. A university notice and other pages give 31 October 2026 as the last date for students, which is only a week away as of 24 October 2026. One listing also reports that institute verification closes on 15 November 2026 and nodal officer verification on 30 November 2026, so ask your college to verify your form promptly (confirm these dates on NSP).

Quick facts

What these schemes are

AICTE runs several student schemes. Pragati is meant to help girls take up technical education, and Saksham is meant to help students with disabilities. Both are for AICTE-approved colleges and both are central schemes, so you apply on the government’s portal and not on a private website. A third-party blog says the money is supposed to help with tuition, books, equipment, a computer or laptop, software and stationery, and that it is paid as a single yearly amount by direct bank transfer to your Aadhaar-linked account. The AICTE guidelines themselves would settle this, and we could not open them.

Who is eligible?

The sources broadly agree on the following, but they differ on the type of entry (see the note after the list).

• Pragati: girl students admitted to an AICTE-approved diploma or degree course; a maximum of two girl children per family can benefit.
• Saksham: students with a disability of at least 40 per cent, certified by a competent medical authority, in the same kind of course.
• Annual family income from all sources must not be more than Rs 8 lakh, shown by an income certificate from the competent authority of your state or union territory.
• Your institution must be approved by AICTE.
• You should not be getting another state or central government scholarship for the same year (stated by one blog).

A note about the entry type: the Buddy4Study page says the degree-level student should be in the first or second year through lateral entry, while another page says first-year students and second-year lateral-entry students can apply. We could not settle this. A university notice says fresh applications in 2026-27 are for both degree and diploma, and that renewals are for earlier batches. Read the official AICTE guidelines, or ask your college’s scholarship nodal officer, for your own case.

How many seats?

One third-party blog gives approximate figures of about 10,000 seats for Pragati (around 5,000 for degree and 5,000 for diploma) and about 1,000 for Saksham (around 500 each). Another source gives no seat figures. We could not confirm the numbers from AICTE, so treat them as unverified.

How to apply on NSP

• Do One Time Registration (OTR) on scholarships.gov.in, which uses Aadhaar e-KYC with biometric or face authentication.
• Log in and choose to apply for the 2026-27 scholarship.
• Select Pragati or Saksham under the AICTE scheme list.
• Fill in personal, academic, income and institute details. Saksham applicants also enter disability details.
• Upload documents and enter your own bank account that is enabled for direct benefit transfer.
• Submit, and save the application ID.
• Your institute then verifies the application. Ask your college’s nodal officer when it will be done, since delays at this stage are a common reason for trouble.

Documents

• Aadhaar card
• Income certificate from the competent authority
• Admission proof or bonafide certificate
• Tuition fee receipt
• First page of bank passbook
• Class 10, Class 12 or diploma marksheet
• Disability certificate for Saksham applicants

Only the income certificate was named on the Buddy4Study page. The rest of this list comes from a third-party blog, so check the NSP guidelines for the full list.

Selection

None of the pages we read describes a merit formula for Pragati or Saksham. What is clear is that the application is checked at two levels: first by your institute and then by the State Nodal Officer, as per the university notice. Payment follows these verifications. Do not assume that applying early guarantees a seat, but late or defective applications are a real risk, so apply early.

Key dates this cycle

Dates on NSP can be extended, but never count on it. If you have not applied yet, start with the OTR today, because Aadhaar authentication and the income certificate are the steps that waste time.

Renewal

The notice mentions renewal applications for earlier batches. A blog explains the steps: log in as a renewal applicant, update your academic and bank details, upload the marksheet showing you cleared the year, and submit before the date. A renewal can be rejected if you have failed subjects or you miss the window. This comes from a non-official source, so check the guidelines.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using a bank account that is not in your name or not linked for direct benefit transfer.
• An income certificate that is not from the competent authority or is out of date.
• Name or date-of-birth mismatch between Aadhaar and marksheets.
• Forgetting to follow up with the college for verification.
• Applying for a scheme that does not match your situation, for example a girl student and a disability scheme together without checking the rules.

Beware of scams

The scholarship is applied for on scholarships.gov.in and there is no fee. Fake websites with similar names, agents who ask for a fee to ‘process’ NSP applications, and callers who ask for your OTP or bank details are all red flags. AICTE and NSP will not ask for your UPI PIN. If a college staff member or agent asks for money to forward your application, report it to the college head and the helpline shown on NSP.

What we could not verify

• AICTE’s own guidelines, which we could not open
• Whether first-year direct-entry students can apply, because sources conflict
• The seat numbers and the full document list
• Renewal conditions and the helpline number
• Any extension of the 31 October 2026 date

Final word

If you are a girl or a student with a disability in a technical diploma or degree course, and your family income is within Rs 8 lakh, check today whether you qualify and complete your NSP application before the deadline. Rs 50,000 a year makes a real difference. Verify every date and rule on scholarships.gov.in and with your college.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the AICTE Pragati scholarship?
A scholarship of AICTE for girl students in technical diploma and degree courses at AICTE-approved colleges, giving Rs 50,000 a year, for families earning up to Rs 8 lakh.

Who can apply for the Saksham scholarship?
Students with at least 40 per cent disability in AICTE-approved technical courses, with family income up to Rs 8 lakh a year.

Where do I apply?
On the National Scholarship Portal, scholarships.gov.in, after One Time Registration.

What is the last date for 2026-27?
31 October 2026 for students, according to a university notice and other pages. Confirm on NSP.

How many girls per family can get Pragati?
A maximum of two girl children per family.