Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India has released the official notification of Centrally Sponsored “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)” Scheme for the financial year 2020-21.Interested & Eligible candidates may apply online, after making sure that they meet the concerned eligibility Criteria.
✅ INSPIRE Scholarship Overview:
✔️ Name of scholarship: Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research
✔️Nodal agency:Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India
✔️No of scholarship : 10,000
✔️Application mode: Online
Awards & Benefits of INSPIRE Scholarship:
✔️Total Scholarship Value : INR 80,000 per annum
✔️Benefits : Cash payable to selected students is INR 60,000 per annum
Important Dates of INSPIRE Scholarship:
| S.No. | Event | Important Dates |
| 1. | Online application starts | 1st November 2020 |
| 2. | Online application closes | 31st December 2020 |
| 3. | Release of list of shortlisted candidates | April/May* |
INSPIRE Scholarship scheme that comes under Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE), a flagship programme of DST. Meant for meritorious students undertaking bachelor’s and master’s courses in Natural and Basic Sciences, INSPIRE Scholarship offers 10,000 scholarships every year. Under SHE, each selected candidate receives INR 80,000 annually for pursuing any subject of Natural or Basic Sciences.
INSPIRE Scholarship – Eligibility Criteria:
In order to apply for SHE, the applicants must have passed class 12 in 2020 (only) and pursuing courses in Natural Sciences at the B.Sc. or Integrated M.Sc. level. Given below is the detailed information about the eligibility criteria of this scholarship.
✔️The applicant must be within the age group of 17-22 years.
✔️The candidate must be among the top 1% of the successful students in terms of aggregate marks in his/her class 12 board exam.
✔️The applicant must be enrolled in courses of Natural and Basic Sciences at the BSc, BS, and Integrated MSc/MS level in the same year of passing class 12.
✔️The applicants who are among the top 10,000 rankers in Joint Entrance Examination of IIT, AIEEE (top 20,000 rankers) & cleared CBSE-Medical (AIPTM) and have opted to study Natural/Basic Sciences are eligible.
✔️The candidates who are admitted to Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Basic Sciences (DAE-CBS) at the University of Mumbai for pursuing courses in Natural/Basic Sciences leading to B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree are also eligible.
✔️The applicants who are KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojna), National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), Olympiad Medallists and Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) scholar and are pursuing courses in Natural/Basic Sciences leading to B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree are eligible.
INSPIRE Scholarship – Selection Process:
All the scholarship applications sent by the potential INSPIRE scholars are evaluated on the basis of the specified eligibility criteria. On the basis of this evaluation, a list of shortlisted candidates is prepared.
✔️The list of shortlisted candidates is displayed on the online portal of INSPIRE and also on the website of the INSPIRE programme.
✔️The selected students need to download their provisional offer letter from the online portal of INSPIRE.
✔️The shortlisted candidates also need to upload the necessary documents on their web portal within the specified timeline for further consideration.
✔️The selected candidates receive their scholarship awards directly into their State Bank of India (SBI) bank account through DBT (Direct Bank Transfer).
INSPIRE Scholarship – Renewal:
For the continuation of SHE scholarship in the subsequent years, INSPIRE scholars need to fulfil the criteria mentioned below.
✔️The students applying for renewal need to score at least 60% marks or 7.0 GPA on a 10.0-point scale in the annual examinations each year (or 2 semesters).
✔️If the candidate fails to secure the required marks in his/her B.Sc/BS/Int. M.Sc/Int. MS exam, the scholarship for that academic year will be cancelled. The scholarship is resumed in the next academic year if the student’s academic performance is satisfactory.
INSPIRE Scholarship: Contact Details:
n case of any query regarding the INSPIRE programmes, the applicants can send their queries with the Programme Name on the email ID mentioned below.
- Email ID: prog-dst@nic.in
- The subject line should include prefixes:
INTERNSHIP – Internship program
✔️SHE – Scholarship for Higher Education program
✔️FELLOWSHIP – Fellowship program
✔️FACULTY – Faculty program
✔️GENERAL – Any General query about INSPIRE program
- Emails without the defined subject as mentioned above may not be answered.
How to Apply for INSPIRE Scholarship :
The applications for INSPIRE Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) are accepted online through the online portal of the INSPIRE Programme. Given below is the complete guideline on how to apply for the scholarship.
Step 1: First the applicant must register as a new user on the INSPIRE scholarship portal. Click here to visit the official portal. Click on ‘New User? Register here‘. The candidate must enter his/her name, gender, date of birth, email, password, eligibility criteria and verification code for successful registration.
Step 2: The candidate receives user ID and password on their registered email ID where he/she needs to click on the activation link to activate his/her account.
Step 3: The applicant must keep the scanned copies of all the required documents as separate files before filling the application form.
Step 4: The applicant must log in to the INSPIRE scholarship portal using his/her username and password.
Step 5: Now, the candidate must fill in all the details like personal particulars, enrolment information at B.Sc. and Integrated M.Sc. level, senior secondary performance information, national level competitive exam details, contact details and other details in the scholarship application form.
Step 6: Also, the applicant needs to upload all the required documents in support of the online scholarship application.
Step 7: The applicant needs to review the entered details before the submission of the form by pressing on the ‘Print Preview’ button. He/She must make sure that all the details and uploaded documents are correct.
Step 8: Now, the applicant needs to click on the ‘Submit’ button to submit the application.
Step 9: After the final submission of the online scholarship application form, the candidate must take the print out of the submitted application for his/her record.
