West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme

Scheme Introduction: A Brief Overview

The Government of West Bengal has launched the Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme (SVMS) to provide financial assistance to meritorious students of the state pursuing Undergraduate or Master's level higher education at premier institutions in India and abroad. The scheme takes effect from the academic year 2026-27 and covers students securing fresh admission to eligible programmes from that academic year onwards. The Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal is the nodal department for implementing the scheme.

Applications for Academic Year 2026-27 are now open. The Higher Education Department has issued the application call under Notification No. 336-(T)10M-15/2026 dated 9 September 2026. Applications are not filled on a web form. Instead, the applicant downloads the official SVMS data-capture workbook, fills it offline, and e-mails it with the required documents to [email protected]. One workbook is completed for one student. Submitting the workbook does not by itself sanction the scholarship, as sanction rests with the Competent Authority.

The West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme provides financial assistance based on institutional eligibility and ranking. Under the Domestic Component, eligible students can receive 100%, 90% or 75% of approved tuition fees based on the applicable institutional category or NIRF Overall ranking. The scheme covers eligible full-time regular Undergraduate and Master's programmes in qualifying premier institutions in India.

Under the International Component, students admitted to eligible universities outside India that rank among the QS World University Rankings 2027 Overall Top 100 can receive 100% of approved tuition fees along with mandatory health insurance. The applicable ranking is determined on the date of admission and remains frozen for the student's tenure under the scheme. Hostel, mess, travel and living expenses are not covered.

The Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme follows merit-based and transparent eligibility criteria. Applicants must be ordinarily resident in West Bengal, have passed Class X or Class XII in regular mode from a recognised school in West Bengal, and have at least one parent or guardian who is an elector in West Bengal. An orphan applicant may satisfy the elector condition personally. Financial assistance under SVMS is available only once during a student's lifetime.

The Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme 2026 is a new initiative and is different from the existing Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship (SVMCM). The new SVMS focuses on meritorious students securing fresh admission to eligible premier institutions in India and abroad for Undergraduate and Master's level programmes. Students should download the workbook and the filling manual only from the official SVMS page of the Higher Education Department, and should not use a copy obtained from any other source.

Scheme Benefits

The Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme benefits meritorious West Bengal students who secure admission into eligible premier institutions in India and abroad. The level of financial assistance depends on the institution's eligibility category or ranking under the Scheme.

• Students admitted to eligible universities in the QS World University Rankings 2027 Overall Top 100 receive 100% of approved tuition fees plus mandatory health insurance.
• Students admitted to eligible premier institutions in India receive financial assistance based on their institutional category or NIRF Overall ranking:
  • 100% of approved tuition fees for Institutions of National Importance, Public Institutions of Eminence and eligible institutions ranked in the NIRF Overall Top 10.
  • 90% of approved tuition fees for institutions ranked 11-25 in the NIRF Overall Rankings.
  • 75% of approved tuition fees for institutions ranked 26-50 in the NIRF Overall Rankings.
• Covers eligible full-time Undergraduate and Master's programmes.
• "Approved tuition" means compulsory tuition fees only.
  • Hostel, mess, refundable deposits, caution money, travel, books, laptop, equipment and optional charges are excluded.
• Health insurance support is admissible only under the International Component; it is not payable for domestic study.
• The applicable QS or NIRF ranking is fixed on the date of admission and stays frozen for the student's tenure.
• Assistance can be released as DBT reimbursement to the student or as direct payment to the institution.
  • The applicant records a preferred mode in the workbook, but the Competent Authority decides the actual mode of payment.
• Any other Central, State or institutional scholarship, waiver or concession for the same course is adjusted against the SVMS amount.
• Scholarship continuation depends on enrolment, satisfactory academic standing and the original programme duration.

Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet the eligibility conditions prescribed by the Government of West Bengal to receive assistance under the Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme.

• The applicant must be a resident of West Bengal.
• The applicant must have passed Class X or Class XII in regular mode from a recognised school in West Bengal.
• At least one parent or guardian must be an elector in West Bengal. An orphan applicant may fulfil this condition themselves.
• The applicant must have secured fresh admission to an eligible programme from academic year 2026-27 onwards; earlier admissions are not eligible.
• For the International Component, the institution must be outside India and rank among the Top 100 in the latest QS Overall World University Rankings on the date of admission.
  • The programme must be full-time and residential.
  • Subject-specific QS rankings are not considered.
• For the Domestic Component, the institution must qualify under any of the following categories:
  • Institution of National Importance (INI).
  • Public Institution of Eminence (IoE).
  • Government or Government-aided institution ranked within the NIRF Overall Top 50 and recognised by the relevant statutory body.
• Admission to eligible domestic institutions must be through the prescribed national entrance examination or merit-based process.
• Domestic programmes must be full-time and regular. Distance, part-time and online programmes are not eligible.
• Private institutions in India are not eligible under the Domestic Component, even if they are highly ranked in NIRF or have private IoE status.
• The applicant must not have previously received financial assistance under SVMS; it is a once-in-a-lifetime benefit.
• At the Undergraduate level, a student can avail assistance under only one of SVMS or the Bhagini Nivedita Uchchashiksha Britti, not both.
• A student can receive SVMS assistance only once in their lifetime.
• Any other scholarship or financial assistance received for the same course will be adjusted against the SVMS amount, as per the Scheme rules.

Required Documents

Applicants must submit the prescribed documents as separate PDF files along with the completed SVMS workbook. The documents must be marked in the "13_Documents" sheet and named according to the prescribed document-code format. A mandatory document cannot remain marked as "Not available" when the applicant submits the application.

Documents Required With Every First Application

1. Offer Letter or admission proof.
2. Valid West Bengal residence proof.
3. Class X or Class XII pass certificate or marksheet.
4. EPIC or voter proof of the parent/guardian, or the student if an orphan.
5. Official tuition fee demand or fee structure.
6. Aadhaar or other prescribed photo ID.
7. Completed Annexure-III undertaking.
8. Cancelled cheque, passbook first page or bank letter with account and IFSC details, if DBT is selected.

Documents Required Depending on the Case

1. Health insurance schedule or premium invoice, for International applications.
2. Proof of any other scholarship, fee waiver or concession for the same course.
3. Payment proof for each reimbursement claim.
4. Proof of continued enrolment or grade report.
5. Foreign bank and payment documents, including invoice, SWIFT/BIC, IBAN and required declarations, for international direct payment.
6. Bank account proof of the Indian host institution, for domestic direct payment.
7. Official approval for deferral, leave or change of institution/programme, along with updated documents where required.
8. Institutional withdrawal, discontinuation, expulsion or cancellation letter and refund proof, if applicable.
9. Any additional document requested by the Competent Authority.

Steps to Apply

Eligible applicants can submit West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme online by e-mail. There is no web application form at present. The applicant downloads the official data-capture workbook, completes it offline, and sends it with the prescribed documents to the designated SVMS mailbox.

How to Fill the SVMS Workbook

1. Visit the official SVMS page of the Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal.
2. Download the blank SVMS Data-Capture Template for AY 2026-27 and the SVMS Template Filling Manual and Document List from that page only.
3. Open the workbook in Microsoft Excel, WPS Office or LibreOffice Calc and enable editing if prompted.
4. Type only in the yellow input cells on the 02_MasterData sheet. Grey cells are calculated and must not be overwritten.
5. Complete the applicant, educational eligibility, parent or elector, admission, fee, bank and declaration details on the Master sheet.
6. Choose the institution strictly in this order: Component, then Country, then State or UT for an Indian institution, then Institution. Press F9 and reopen the list if a drop-down appears empty.
7. Confirm that category, rank, ranking year, and the support band have filled themselves automatically.
8. Mark the status of every row on the 13_Documents sheet. A mandatory row cannot remain marked as "Not available".
9. Set every clause on the 04_AnnexIII_Undertaking sheet to Yes and record the place and date.
10. Check that Eligibility reads ELIGIBLE, the Error Log shows an ERROR count of 0, and the Document checklist reads COMPLETE.
11. Open the 01_ControlPanel sheet and confirm it reads READY TO SUBMIT. Do not send a file that still reads NOT READY.
12. Fill a later sheet for continuation, reimbursement, direct payment, change or withdrawal only when that event actually arises.

How to Submit the SVMS Application

1. Scan each required document as a separate PDF, named in the pattern SVMS_<TXN>_<DOC-xx>_<SURNAME-GIVENNAME>_<YYYYMMDD>.pdf.
2. Use only letters, digits, hyphens and underscores in file names. Spaces are not allowed.
3. E-mail the completed workbook and all prescribed PDFs to [email protected].
4. Use the prescribed subject-line format exactly, as the back-end parses it automatically.
5. Keep the body of the e-mail to the prescribed six lines covering scheme, transaction, applicant, institution, Control Panel status and attachments.
6. Send one student per e-mail, and keep the mail within the mailbox limit of about 20 MB.
7. If the attachments exceed the size limit, send a second email with the same subject line followed by |PART2 after the date token, listing which document codes are in which part.
8. Do not lock the workbook with a password, do not send a photograph of the spreadsheet in place of the Excel file, and do not place scans inside the workbook.

SVMS E-mail Subject Line Format

The subject line must be a single line of pipe-separated tokens in this exact order, with no extra spaces around the pipes:

SVMS|TXN|COMP|LVL|DIST|NAME|INST|APPID|YYYYMMDD

• TXN: APPL for a first application. Later transactions use CONT, REIMB, DPAY, CHG, WTH, UPD or QRY.
• COMP: INT for International or DOM for Domestic.
• LVL: UG for Undergraduate or PG for Master's.
• DIST: district of residence in capitals, with hyphens instead of spaces.
• NAME: SURNAME-GIVENNAME in capitals, without any title.
• INST: institution short name in capitals, hyphens instead of spaces, under 30 characters.
• APPID: NA on the first mail, and the allotted Application ID in every later mail.
• YYYYMMDD: the date of the mail in eight digits.

Example: SVMS|APPL|DOM|UG|KOLKATA|BANERJEE-ARITRA|IIT-KHARAGPUR|NA|20261005

A mail whose subject line is not in this form is not treated as filed until a corrected subject is received. Mails that do not parse are placed in an exception folder.

After Submitting the SVMS Application

• Quote the same subject line when writing again about the same application.
• Once an Application or Scholar ID is allotted, use that ID in every later mail.
• For a query on an application already sent, mail [email protected] using TXN as QRY along with the allotted Application ID.
• A corrected pack is sent as an UPD mail with the full corrected workbook, not just the changed portion.
• A false statement, a suppressed fact or a fabricated document may lead to cancellation, recovery with interest, debarment for five years and legal proceedings.

Note: The Department may introduce a portal-based application route later and may change the SVMS page address from time to time. Applicants should check the official Higher Education Department website for the latest access details before applying.

Relevant Links

• West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Application Notice
• WB Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Instruction Manual for Data Capture
• WB SVMS Data Capture Template
• West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme Official Portal.
• West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme Poster.
• West Bengal Swami Vivekananda Merit Scholarship Scheme Guidelines.
• West Bengal Higher Education Department Portal.

Contact Information

• West Bengal Higher Education Department Contact Details.