The Maharashtra government will launch a new integrated scholarship platform called MahaScholarship on the MahaDBT 2.0 portal starting from the 2026-27 academic year. This initiative consolidates all post-Class 10 scholarship schemes into a single digital system, as announced by the higher and technical education department in a press note.
Simplified Application Process
The revamped portal aims to streamline the application process by reducing the number of fields in the scholarship application form from over 130 to approximately 65. Student data and documents will be automatically fetched from Aadhaar, CET Cell, and other government databases where applicable. This is expected to minimize repetitive data entry, reduce errors, and decrease the number of ineligible applications.
Streamlined Verification and Disbursement
The verification process has been optimized, reducing the existing four-level scrutiny system to two levels to accelerate approvals and scholarship disbursals. Students will be able to track their application status online, and scholarship amounts will be directly transferred into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
Pre-filled Renewals and Valid Income Certificates
The new portal will introduce pre-filled renewal applications, allowing students to update only changed details instead of submitting fresh forms annually. For income-based schemes, income certificates submitted in the first year will remain valid for the entire duration of the course.
Chandrakant Patil, the Higher and Technical Education Minister, stated that the new system would bring "speed, transparency and ease into the scholarship process" and ensure smoother delivery of benefits to students across the state.
