The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched a proposal according to which the scholarship of MTech students would be increased by 50 percent. If the proposal gets approved by the Ministry of Education, the students of MTech courses in AICTE-approved institutes will receive a monthly scholarship of ₹18,600 instead of the current ₹12,400. This course is planned to convince more engineering graduates to opt for postgraduate engineering study, a topic which has been witnessing declining numbers of students in the past couple of years.
Why Is AICTE Calling for an Increase in Scholarship?
Over the past two years, there has been a sharp fall in students showing interest to take up MTech courses in engineering. This had raised alarms over the talent pool of the next generation for higher domains of engineering and research.
In 2018-19, close to 1.81 lakh MTech seats were present in the entire country.
By 2023-24, this had come down significantly to close to 1.30 lakh seats.
Admission decreased by close to 66,000 students to just 44,000 students in the same period.
AICTE believes that an increase in scholarship amount will spur postgraduate engineering studies among students. By providing better financial assistance, the council hopes to reverse the declining trend and drive more students towards higher studies and research in engineering.
Timeline of the Proposal
AICTE had originally suggested this in June 2024 to the Ministry of Education requesting a raise in the scholarship to ₹18,600 a month. A reminder was then issued to the ministry in March 2025 to hasten the process. The rate had previously been modified in 2015 when it was increased from ₹8,000 to ₹12,400 a month. Keeping in view the gap of almost a decade since the last hike, the AICTE deems the current hike as warranted and justified.
Who Will Benefit from the Scholarship?
The scholarship is for students who meet the following specifications:
- They are studying postgraduate engineering (MTech) programs in AICTE-approved institutions.
- Students must have been admitted on well-established and accepted admission procedures, and not the management quota-related admissions.
- Already-sponsored students or those under other types of financial assistance are not eligible to avail the aforementioned scholarship.
It is just this targeted approach that the scholarship shall provide meritorious students who truly deserve help to pursue further studies.
Change in GATE Eligibility Criteria
Now, the most well-known eligibility factor for the AICTE MTech scholarship is passing the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exam. AICTE has, however, proposed a major shift in this context.
The council has also proposed inclusion of students having a CGPA of 8.5 and above for the scholarship, although they have not appeared for the GATE exam or passed it, but subject to the fact that they are pursuing their studies in AICTE-approved institutions. This step is to identify merit without GATE marks and give more chances to meritorious students through the scholarships.
AICTE's Vision: Reviving Interest in Higher Technical Education
AICTE officials stated that the increase in scholarships is necessary to bring back interest among students for studying for MTech degrees. They anticipate the additional funds to:
- Encourage more engineering graduates to pursue postgraduate-level studies.
- Engage more research and higher studies in technology and engineering.
- Allow meritorious students to overcome financial hindrances that would prevent them from studying MTech courses.
If this proposal is accepted, it would translate into increased admissions and improved quality of postgraduate engineering education in India. Thousands of Indian students are expected to be directly benefited by the increase in scholarship amount, enhancing India's research base and technical manpower.
This enhancement in scholarship proposal is a demonstration of AICTE's willingness to transform along with the needs of changing times of the students and industry to render India competitive in the global engineering environment.
