National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) 2026-27
Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India
📌 About the Scholarship
The National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) 2026-27 is a Government of India scholarship scheme that helps low-income students from marginalized communities pursue Master’s or Ph.D. courses abroad. It covers major study-abroad expenses like tuition fees, maintenance allowance, visa fees, medical insurance, and travel support, making it one of the most important fully funded overseas education scholarships for eligible Indian students.
ℹ️ Scholarship Details
- Mode of Conduct: Online application mode through the official NOS portal.
- Purpose: Provides financial assistance for Master’s degree and Ph.D. courses abroad.
- Total Awards: 125 fresh scholarships are offered in a selection year, subject to availability of funds.
- Category-wise Slots: 115 for Scheduled Castes, 6 for DNT/Semi-Nomadic Tribes, and 4 for Landless Agricultural Labourers & Traditional Artisans.
- Women Reservation: 30% of scholarships are earmarked for female candidates.
📅 Important Dates
- Application Start Date: 24 April 2026, 00:00 hours.
- Application Last Date: 2 June 2026, 23:59 hours for Round 1, as reported for the 2026-27 cycle.
- Correction Window: 4 June 2026 to 7 June 2026 for submitted applicants only.
- Second Round: Expected in September/October 2026, only if slots remain vacant.
- Selection Year: April 2026 to March 2027.
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligible Categories: Applicants must belong to Scheduled Castes, Denotified /Nomadic/Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers, or Traditional Artisans.
- Eligible Courses: Only Master’s level courses and Ph.D. courses abroad are covered. Bachelor’s courses are not covered.
- Minimum Marks: Applicants must have at least 60% marks or equivalent grade in the qualifying exam. For Ph.D., the qualifying exam is Master’s degree; for Master’s, it is Bachelor’s degree.
- Age Limit: Candidate must be not more than 35 years as on the first day of April of the selection year.
- Family Income Limit: Gross annual family income must not exceed ₹8 lakh per annum from all sources.
- Admission Requirement: For the first round, candidates need an unconditional offer of admission from a foreign institution/university in the top 500 QS World University Rankings.
- Application Rule: Only complete online applications will be considered; incomplete applications can be rejected.
- Selection Process: Eligible candidates are ranked based on the QS ranking of the foreign university from which they have received an offer. Higher-ranked universities get higher merit priority.
- Tie-breaker: If two candidates have offers from universities with the same QS rank, merit is decided based on marks/grades in the qualifying examination.
🏆 Benefits for the Participants
- Scholarship Type: Fully funded financial assistance for selected candidates.
- Tuition Fees: Covered as actual fees charged by the foreign university/institution.
- Annual Maintenance Allowance: USD 15,400 for USA and other countries except UK; GBP 9,900 for UK.
- Annual Contingency Allowance:USD 1,500 for USA/other countries except UK; GBP 1,100 for UK.
- Visa Fees: Covered as actual visa fees in Indian Rupees.
- Medical Insurance: Covered as actual premium charged.
- Air Passage: Economy-class airfare support is available through authorised travel agents, with reimbursement after joining the university and submitting the joining report.
- Duration of Support: Financial assistance is provided for up to 4 years for Ph.D. and 3 years for Master’s degree, or the sanctioned course duration, whichever is earlier.