The Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) for Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) 2025-26, initiated by the Ministry of Railways, is an esteemed initiative to do to foster higher technical and professional education among the children of RPF and RPSF personnel. Scholarships only apply to the wards of serving or ex-serving personnel below Gazetted Officer rank.
The purpose of the scholarship is to assist deserving students through financial assistance to study a recognised professional degree program such as engineering, medicine, law, pharmacy, education and IT. By relieving the burden of cost, the scheme will help these students undertake a quality education and create sustainable career paths.
Eligibility Criteria – Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme 2025-2026
The Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) for the academic year 2025–26 is an initiative from the Ministry of Railways that aims to assist the aspirations of children and widows of RPF/RPSF personnel who are pursuing higher education. This scheme will encourage merit deserving students to pursue Professional and Technical Degrees in full time mode by providing Financial Assistance to students.
The scholarship would cover deserving students in non-gazetted cadre - serving or retired RPF/RPSF members. It promotes students to join premier colleges and universities in India.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The applicants must be children or widows falling under the dependent category of RPF/RPSF personnel and should hold the category below Gazetted officer.
- The candidates should have been enrolled in regular full time mode of admission to the course for the academic year of 2025–26.
- The candidates should have secured a minimum of 60% or above in the qualifying type of education qualifications such as Class 12, Diploma or Graduation.
- It is useful financial aid for students pursuing professional degrees in colleges and universities certified by bodies such as All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), University Grants Commission (UGC), Medical Council of India(MCI) and National Council for Teacher Education (Recognised) & (UGC)
- Courses include but are not limited to, degrees in engineering, medical, law, pharmacy, education, various computer application and management degrees.
- Only eligible students are students that are in full-time mode or participating in a traditional on campus degree program; this excludes distance education courses.
- At the postgraduate degree only MBA and MCA courses fall under the scope of the scheme.
- In the event that there are more applications than scholarships available, the order in which categories will receive scholarships is as follows:
Category I: Wards/widows of ex-RPF/RPSF personnel who died in service due to causes related to encounters with terrorists or criminals while safeguarding Railway Property, Passengers, and Passenger area, or who died during election duty.
Category II: Wards/widows of ex-RPF/RPSF personnel who died while on duty, in service.
Category III: Wards of ex-RPF/RPSF (retired) personnel.
Category IV: Wards of serving RPF/RPSF personnel.
Benefits of the Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme for RPF/RPSF 2025–26
The Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) for the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) provides an important benefit to eligible students to allow them to pursue higher education with confidence as the financial burden is reduced. Successful applicants will receive the following benefits:
Monthly Scholarship Rate:
The monthly scholarship rate is as follows:
- Female candidates will receive ₹3,000 per month to encourage and promote the education of young women students in technical and professional sectors
- Male candidates will receive ₹2,500 as a monthly payment to provide continuous financial support for the education-related expenses in the pursuit of higher education.
Personalized Recognition:
- All successful scholarship recipients will receive a personalized congratulatory letter from the Honorable Prime Minister of India to formally recognize the accomplishment and encourage students to confidently continue their educational journey.
Reduction in financial need for education:
- With the money provided by this award, the student can reduce the financial needs associated with tuition fees, relevant study materials and any other applicable educational expenses to ease the financial impacts on the families of serving and ex-serving personnel RPF/RPSF as a whole.
Encouragement for professional development:
- The PMSS encourages further higher professional education, into employment track students through higher levels of technical and professional education; hopefully resulting in each student making a meaningful contribution to their respective fields and the society as a whole.
Targeted scheme exclusively for the wards of personnel RPF/RPSF:
- This program places emphasis on helping and targeting the families of personnel who have served or are currently serving.
Documents Needed for Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) 2025–26
If you wish to apply successfully for the Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme for RPF/RPSF, you will need to submit documents based on whether your application is for a new scholarship or renewal.
For New Applicants:
- Service Certificate:
- People applying under Category IV (wards of serving personnel) should ensure to include a service certificate from the authority, as indicated in Annexure II of the application guidelines.
- PPO / Discharge Certificate / Book:
- If an applicant belongs to Categories I, II and III (including widows or wards of deceased or retired personnel), they need to include a Pension Payment Order (PPO), Discharge Certificate or Service Book.
- Marksheet of Minimum Entry Qualification (MEQ):
- Scanned copy of the mark sheet or grade card of the minimum qualifying exam should be provided. The minimum qualification exam could either be Class 12, Diploma or to classify the applicant as a pass graduate student, based on the course they have applied for.
For Renewal Between Years:
- Updated Service Certificate:
- If a successful renewal applicant applies next year and falls into the supporting Category IV, the applicant must supply the updated service certificate and details as specified in Annexure II, in order to verify eligibility according to the new service certificate.
- Previous Academic Record:
- A scanned copy of the most recent class marksheet or grade card must be provided to demonstrate satisfactory progress. Alternatively, official proof of course upgradation issued by the authorized institution or education board may be submitted.
How to Apply for the Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) 2025-26
Eligible candidates will be able to complete their application online for the scholarship using the following steps:
Step 1: Click the button below to apply now.
Step 2: If you are a new user, click on 'Register' and fill out the details on the 'Personal and Contact Details' page to register. You may also login using your Gmail account, mobile number or email ID if you are an existing user.
Step 3: After a successful login, click 'Students' on the left-hand side of the main dashboard.
Step 4: Next, find the 'Students' menu on the left-hand side of the page and click the 'Login' button next to the One-Time Registration (OTR) option. This is a requirement for applying for the scholarship from National Scholarship Portal (NSP).
Step 5: If this is your first time using the NSP platform, click 'New User? Register Yourself' from the dashboard Sidebar.
Step 6: Read all of the information carefully, verify you have read and check the confirmation box, click 'Next'.
Step 7: Enter a valid mobile number in the mobile field, enter the just shown captcha code, and hit submit. You will then receive an OTP to verify your mobile number.
Step 8: Upon successful entry of required information, and selecting the “save & register” button, a temporary registration number will be created. In order to complete the OTR, you will need to download the NSP mobile application (once it is released), and undertake face authentication.
Step 9: Once OTR has been successfully verified, you will return to the dashboard and will select the ‘Apply for Scholarship’ option and again log in.
Step 10: Select the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme from the list displayed, complete all required fields, upload all required documents and submit your application.
Important: Before you select the submit button, please verify all the details on your form. After you submit your application you will not be able to edit your application. If you have a second application, you will be disqualified from the process.
Terms & Conditions
- Applicants can renew their scholarships on the National Scholarship Portal, using the original application ID for the application process. To renew their scholarship, the applicant must upload a college/institute certificate indicating the previous results and currently enrolled in the course.
- Any indication of false information will result in the immediate cancellation of the scholarship, and the applicant will be required to repay the amount of scholarships paid, with interest. All future applications will also be disqualified.
- If the applicant fails to qualify for the course or leaves the course, the applicant can no longer be eligible for the renewals.
- Zonal Railways will verify all applications; only eligible applications will be approved.
- Since 2017–18 the scholarships are transferred directly to the bank account of students under the scheme Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
- The applicants must provide the bank account that is linked to their Aadhaar number for payment purposes.
- The duration of the scholarship depends on the duration of the course, which is typically from 01 years to 05 years.
- The Ministry of Railways reserves the right to make changes to the rules of the scheme at any time.
