Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme

The Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme is a flagship initiative of the Government of India implemented by the Maulana Azad Education Foundation under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Formerly known as the Maulana Azad Scholarship, it provides direct financial assistance to meritorious girl students from the six notified minority communities: Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi.

The scholarship is available to girl students enrolled in Classes 9 through 12 who have secured at least 50 percent marks in their previous annual examination. The annual family income of the applicant must not exceed Rs 2,00,000 from all sources. A maximum of two beneficiaries per family are eligible, and applicants must not be receiving any other central government scholarship.

Students in Classes 9 and 10 receive Rs 5,000 per year while students in Classes 11 and 12 receive Rs 6,000 per year. The amount is disbursed directly to the student's Aadhaar-linked bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer in two installments.

Since its inception, approximately 6 lakh girl students have benefited from this scheme across the country. Applications are processed through the National Scholarship Portal with state-wise distribution based on minority population ratios from Census 2011.