Two UGC scholarships are open on the National Scholarship Portal, and one closes 31 October

Two University Grants Commission scholarship schemes are running on the National Scholarship Portal for the academic year 2026-27, and both are widely under-applied for relative to the number of students eligible.

Ishan Uday

The Ishan Uday Special Scholarship Scheme supports undergraduate students from the North Eastern Region. The portal lists the application as having opened on 16 September 2026, with 31 October 2026 as the last date for student applications.

NSPG

The National Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies (NSPG) supports postgraduate students. Applications are processed through the same portal. Check the portal for its current window rather than relying on any date circulating elsewhere.

The step that stops most people

Before you can apply for any scheme, you need a One-Time Registration (OTR) number. That is a separate process from the scholarship application itself, it involves Aadhaar-based verification, and it is where most first-time applicants lose their week. Do the OTR first and do it now, not on the last date, when the portal is carrying the whole country's traffic.

Get these ready before you start

• Your Aadhaar, and confirmation that it is seeded with your bank account. Scholarship money is disbursed to the seeded account, and an unseeded account is the most common reason a sanctioned scholarship never arrives.
• Institute details, and confirmation that your institute is registered on the portal. If it is not, your application cannot be verified however correct it is.
• Marksheets, income certificate and category certificate as required by the scheme.
• For students with disabilities, your UDID details.

The portal also carries an application-status page and a payment-tracking service, so an applicant can see where a sanctioned amount has reached rather than waiting in silence.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on the scholarship schemes of the University Grants Commission administered through the National Scholarship Portal. Official portal: scholarships.gov.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.