The Ministry of Education has extended the deadline for application submissions under the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) for the 2026-27 academic year to November 15, 2026. The scheme provides financial assistance to talented students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to minimize secondary school dropouts. - **National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS):** A central sector scheme that provides annual financial assistance of ₹12,000 to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to minimize secondary school dropouts after Class 8. - **National Scholarship Portal (NSP):** A unified digital portal of the Government of India for students to apply for, track, and receive various central and state government scholarships via Direct Benefit Transfer. - **Department of School Education and Literacy:** The department under the Ministry of Education responsible for formulating policies and centrally sponsored schemes for universalizing elementary and secondary education and literacy in India. **Introduction** The Ministry of Education has extended the deadline for application submissions under the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) for the 2026-27 academic year to November 15, 2026. The scheme provides financial assistance to talented students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to minimize secondary school dropouts. **Core Issue and Detailed Points** - The last date for submitting applications under the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) for the academic year 2026-27 has been extended to November 15, 2026. - NMMSS aims to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest dropouts at class VIII and encourage them to continue education at the secondary stage up to class XII. - Scholarships are disbursed directly into the bank accounts of selected students via the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. - Applications are processed through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), a centralized platform for government scholarships. **Key Statutory Bodies, Acts & Concepts** - **National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS):** A central sector scheme that provides annual financial assistance of ₹12,000 to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to minimize secondary school dropouts after Class 8. - **National Scholarship Portal (NSP):** A unified digital portal of the Government of India for students to apply for, track, and receive various central and state government scholarships via Direct Benefit Transfer. - **Department of School Education and Literacy:** The department under the Ministry of Education responsible for formulating policies and centrally sponsored schemes for universalizing elementary and secondary education and literacy in India.