Main institute-funded support for undergraduate students
IIT Kharagpur’s student portal describes two distinct institute-funded forms of need-linked support for eligible undergraduate students: the Merit-Cum-Means (MCM) scholarship and a tuition-fee exemption. The portal states that MCM is available to students in listed UG and dual-degree programmes, including B.Tech. (Hons.), B.S., B.Arch. (Hons.), Integrated M.Sc. and dual-degree routes. It describes MCM as a full exemption from institute tuition plus a monthly stipend set by the Board of Governors, paid for twelve months from July through June. The portal says 25% of each admitted batch receive MCM, subject to the scheme’s rules and selection process.
The tuition-fee exemption is separate. The portal describes it as tuition waived without the MCM stipend and says it is restricted to 10% of admitted students each year. It is intended for students who meet the means criterion but do not meet the MCM merit criterion. “Tuition fee” is the scope of this waiver: it does not mean every institute, hostel, mess, insurance or personal expense is exempt. Applicants should compare the current fee schedule with the specific award rule rather than reading “fee waiver” as an all-cost scholarship.
Eligibility: merit, family income and good standing
The portal’s stated merit rule for fresh entrants is at least 60% aggregate, or equivalent grade, in the qualifying examination for JEE Advanced. For renewal it states a GPA of at least 7.00 across the two semesters of the preceding session, updated after supplementary or summer-quarter examinations. This is a continuing award, not an automatic benefit granted to every student who entered through JEE Advanced.
The means criterion uses annual family income and the income limit laid down by the Government of India. The portal says the relevant income is from the financial year completed before the session begins. Its listed proof options include an income certificate, both parents’ income tax returns, or an income affidavit with each application and renewal. Good-standing conditions also apply: the current portal lists disciplinary and examination-integrity restrictions, attendance and examination participation. These requirements can be updated, so students should use the rule and application notice for the relevant session. The public page does not provide a single permanent income ceiling for every future year, and this article does not invent one.
Endowment and alumni-funded awards vary by scheme
Alongside institute MCM support, IIT Kharagpur maintains endowment and alumni-funded scholarships. The portal says each award is governed by its own fund rules; eligibility and value vary. Some awards use the highest CGPA in the immediately preceding semester within a batch as a “best student” criterion. A dated 2025-26 Academic (UG) notice shows the operational pattern: students applied through the ERP for listed endowment MCM awards, and family-income documents were required for relevant schemes. That notice is useful as a historical example of how an application cycle can work, but its 31 October 2025 deadline and financial-year conditions do not apply automatically to a later session.
The student portal says a student may hold only one scholarship at a time and should notify the Dean of Undergraduate Studies in writing when choosing between simultaneous eligible awards. It also notes that some eligibility details are governed by Senate resolutions and that outstanding institute or hall dues may be deducted from a scholarship payment. Read the particular scheme’s current terms before relying on the name or value of a past endowment award. A list of alumni awards is not a promise that every fund will be open to every first-year student in every year.
Application and renewal: check the current session notice
A practical first step is to open the student portal’s Scholarships section and then follow its link to the complete institute rules and current application notice. Check the award name, the academic session, the relevant financial year for family income, the documents required, the ERP submission process and the deadline. Keep copies of the documents and a confirmation of submission. If your income verification was already completed for another tuition-related process, do not assume it automatically satisfies every scholarship application; follow the current notice’s instructions.
For renewal, track the GPA requirement and any supplementary or summer-quarter result update. Check attendance, examination and disciplinary conditions before the next application window. If family circumstances change, ask the Academic Section or Dean of Undergraduate Studies which documents the current process accepts. The official portal provides a contact path to the Dean Undergraduate Studies; use that route for an individual eligibility decision. This is especially important for candidates whose family income falls near a threshold, students receiving a state Post-Matric scheme, and students considering two awards with different benefits.
What scholarship support does and does not cover
MCM’s full tuition exemption and monthly stipend can reduce a substantial part of the cost, while the separate tuition-fee exemption covers tuition only and does not include that stipend. Neither statement should be read as a guarantee that all charges disappear. The institute’s 2025 entrant fee schedule, for example, listed tuition separately from one-time and refundable charges; those figures were tentative and specific to that earlier intake, not a promise of 2027-28 fees. A scholarship article should not be used as a substitute for the fee schedule.
Scholarship awards also differ from an admissions reservation, a loan or an unconditional grant. Selection depends on the applicable rules, documents, available award structure and continuing eligibility. The 25% and 10% portal figures describe the stated scheme limits/coverage, not an individual probability. Verify the latest published scholarship information for the academic year in which you enroll and keep historical rules labeled by their actual session.
Update note
This 2027-28 edition summarizes rules displayed on IIT Kharagpur’s student portal as checked on 27 October 2026. The example application notice is explicitly for 2025-26; no 2027-28 deadline, income limit or award amount is asserted. Confirm current dates, documentation and scheme availability with the official portal and Academic Section.