PRERANA Scholarship

In India, Odisha reported an unfortunate 27.3% secondary school dropouts, almost double the national average. A gripping reason leading to the rising number of students leaving education is perhaps limited financial resources. Most families living under deprived economic conditions couldn’t afford basic necessities which ultimately forces the parents to curb their children’s education costs to meet more immediate needs. The Odisha government has made a significant effort towards making higher education affordable to students through the Prerana scholarship program. Continue reading this comprehensive article to gain insight into this scholarship scheme's eligibility, benefits, and application process.

Prerana scholarship is an Odisha government initiative to offer financial aid to students pursuing higher education. One of the prime objectives behind launching this scholarship is to encourage meritorious students to continue paving the path to their educational endeavors by eliminating any financial barriers. Eligible students hailing from poor economic backgrounds can directly apply at the Odisha state scholarship portal 2024-25 and submit the form without much hassle. The applicants have to apply for various higher educational courses through valid credentials. Students can receive the scholarship amount directly in their bank accounts thereby eliminating any third-party involvement. This scheme covers different types of expenses that include tuition fees, accommodation costs, and other educational expenses. With this initiative, the government has been ensuring that the academic dreams of students should not be compromised due to weaker economic conditions. Besides empowering student’s education, the scheme enables students to gain employability skills so that they embark on a fruitful career.

Applying for the Prerana scholarship in Odisha requires the student to get a complete understanding of the list of schemes included under the program so that any sort of inadequacies can be avoided. 

Post-matric Scholarship for SC Category

This category of scholarship takes into account students hailing from the scheduled caste category. It can be availed by the students who have completed their matriculation and are willing to pursue higher studies. As part of the program, the recipients will get benefits like maintenance allowance, tuition fees, exam fees, and related education expenses. The application process is generally held between November to January.

Post-matric Scholarship for ST Category

As the name suggests, candidates belonging to the scheduled caste category can reap the benefits of this scheme. Students' communities receive financial assistance so that their academic objectives can be fulfilled without any monetary roadblocks. Students can get an opportunity to receive a scholarship of up to INR 550 to 1200 for tuition fees, course fees, or admission expenses.

Post-matric Scholarship for OBC/SEBC Categories

Prerana Scholarship 2024 assists students from backward classes like OBC and SEBC to complete their higher education dreams without worrying about expenses. According to the regulation set by authorities, students can get a concession of up to INR 350 to 750 on sports fees, maintenance allowance, and course fees.

Post-matric Scholarship for EBC Category

This scholarship scheme under the Prerana Scholarship acts as a helping hand for EBC category students who can’t afford educational expenses like college fees, admission fees, or accommodation expenses. It enables the state to overcome the huge gap that exists between an economically stable and financially deprived group of students.

Before submitting the scholarship form online, applicants need to check whether they comply with the eligibility criteria to start reaping the benefits of the financial aid program or not. A principal component included in the eligibility parameter is that students must belong to the four groups defined by the authority.

• Group I: Students willing to enroll in graduate or postgraduate degree courses in streams of veterinary, medicine, engineering, or agriculture. Those pursuing PG diplomas in medicine, management, or accountancy can also apply.
• Group 2: This group comprises students willing to take up courses in streams of diploma certifications in pharmacy, LLB, mass communication nursing, management, etc. It also includes candidates pursuing PG courses like MEd, MCom, MA, MSc, and MPharma.
• Group 3: Under this group of the Prerana scholarship scheme, only students willing to enroll for a three-year graduation degree irrespective of a stream can apply.
• Group 4: Candidates who are either pursuing 10+2 courses or have aspirations to shift to the field of vocational courses to become job-ready can only apply for a scholarship under Group 4.

• Income threshold: It's an important parameter allowing students to apply for the scholarship program. Candidates with an annual family income of Rs 2,50,000 can only apply for this scholarship. However, the range might vary according to the category of a candidate.
• Citizenship: As the Prerana scheme has been initiated by the Odisha Government, students hailing from Odisha are only eligible to apply.
• Educational background: Candidates who have successfully qualified their class 10 with at least 50% marks can send online applications before the Prerana scholarship's last date 2022-23 for receiving financial aid.
• Category: The advantages of this scholarship program can be availed only by the students who belong to socially deprived categories including scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and other backward classes.
• Type of institute: Prerana scheme beneficiaries enroll in any government-affiliated education institution for higher studies.

Beneficiaries willing to seek financial assistance for higher education can apply for the Prerana scholarship online. Candidates have to visit the scholarship portal and submit their form with valid details before the last date. Follow the below-mentioned steps to successfully apply for the program.

• Browse the official website- scholarship.odisha.gov.in
• Tap on the Registration option on the scholarship portal
• To proceed with the registration process, enter the Aadhar card number. After successful registration, candidates will receive a user
• ID on their email addresses.
• Now log in with the user ID and password
• Fill up the form and complete the process by providing relevant details
• Upload the necessary documents and preview the form
• Get a hard copy of Prerana Scholarship application form for future reference

Candidates applying for the Odisha Scholarship 2024 must keep the following documents handy as they need to upload them along with the application form.

• Aadhar card number
• Income certificate
• Resident certificate
• Last examination pass certificate 
• Recent photographs of applicants
• Xerox copy of the applicant’s bank passbook’s first page
• Matriculation certificate
• Caste certificate

Students who are unaware of the Prerana scholarship program and the benefits they can reap can go through the following points for guidance.

• Stipend: Students covered under the Odisha scholarship program 2024 will receive a monthly stipend. Thai financial aid allows students belonging form a poor economic background to meet expenses like admission fees, hostel charges, and other associated expenses without any hassle.
• Employment scope: With the help of the Prerana Scholarship, students can get the liberty and confidence to enhance their professional expertise to make a fulfilling career.
• Hostel accommodation: Students can receive accommodation facilities under the Odisha scholarship scheme. Be it the mess chargers or other expenses, the cost will be covered by the scheme.
• Book grants: Candidates applying for the scholarship can get complete assistance in terms of book grants. Students won’t face any financial constraints in accessing expensive study materials.

To ensure that the benefits covered under the Prerana scholarship are received by eligible candidates, the government considers a set of factors to determine the selection of a student.

• Reservation: Candidates hailing from deprived socio-economic backgrounds will be considered eligible but benefits will be based on certain guidelines.
• Academic Record: It is an important selection criterion for deciding on a candidate’s eligibility. Financial aid under the scheme will only be given to meritorious students.
• Document Verification: Candidates must submit valid certificates otherwise applications are liable to be canceled by the authorities.
• Timely Form Submission: Candidates must make a note of the Prerana scholarship 2023-24 last date. To receive the financial grant, it is crucial to apply online within the deadline.
• Seat Matrix: The selection is largely dependent on the total number of scholarships distributed to different category students.