Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana: Odisha reopens scholarship portal till November 20

Odisha's Higher Education Department has reopened the state scholarship portal for fresh applications under the Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana for the 2026-27 academic year. In this second phase, students can apply online at scholarship.odisha.gov.in from Thursday, 5 November 2026 until Friday, 20 November 2026. The window covers five merit and support scholarships for students in undergraduate (+3), postgraduate, and technical and professional courses, at colleges that admit through the state's SAMS system and at those that do not.

For many college students in Odisha, a state scholarship is the difference between finishing a degree and dropping out to work. The Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chhatra Protsahan Yojana brings several older state scholarships under one umbrella and one online portal, so a student at a degree college in a district town applies through the same system as a student at an engineering college in Bhubaneswar.

The second phase matters because not every student manages to apply in the first round. Admissions to postgraduate and professional courses often finish late, results for some semesters arrive after the first window has closed, and students in rural areas may not hear about a portal opening until classmates or teachers tell them. A fresh phase gives these students another chance in the same academic year, instead of waiting a full year.

The five schemes serve different groups. The three e-Medhabruti scholarships are merit awards, split by level: undergraduate, postgraduate, and technical and professional courses such as engineering, medicine and management. The other two, the Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Bhasabruti Scheme and the Gopabandhu Sikhya Sahayata Yojana, have their own rules on the portal. The Gopabandhu scheme also has a longer validation period, running into mid-December at the district welfare officer and OSACS level, which means its applications pass through a further level of checking after the college has verified them.

Validation is the step students most often overlook. An application that is submitted but not verified by the college principal or head of institution by the deadline cannot move forward. Students who apply near the last date leave their colleges very little time to check documents, and a missing mark sheet or a mismatch in bank details can then hold up the payment.

Peepals calculation: The window runs 16 days in all, from 5 to 20 November. Counting from today, Sunday 8 November, 13 days remain, including the last day. Colleges then get 10 more days, from 21 to 30 November, to validate, and the Gopabandhu scheme has a further 15 days after that, to 15 December. Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Students who missed the first phase, including those in the first year of undergraduate, postgraduate or professional courses, can apply now. Colleges will need to keep their scholarship desks working through late November to clear validations on time.

Long-term: A predictable two-phase calendar, if it continues, helps students in late-admitting courses plan their finances for the year, and puts more of the checking work on colleges well before the money is paid.

Who is affected: Students of Odisha enrolled in general degree, postgraduate, and technical and professional courses at SAMS and non-SAMS institutions; college principals and scholarship nodal officers; and district welfare officials who check Gopabandhu scheme applications.

What to watch next: The application portal closes on 20 November 2026, and institution-level validation must be finished by 30 November 2026.

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