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News India Live, Digital Desk: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a very important and strict instruction for millions of researchers and students of the country. If you are also taking advantage of any fellowship or scholarship of UGC, then this news is related to your future. The Commission has made it clear that now scholarship amount will not be sent to the account of any student without ‘Aadhaar linking’ and ‘bank seeding’. UGC has written a letter to all universities and higher educational institutions asking them to implement this rule with immediate effect.
‘Seeding’ of Aadhaar and bank account becomes mandatory
According to the letter issued by the Secretary of UGC, linking of Aadhaar card with bank account is now not optional but mandatory for all financial assistance given through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The Commission argues that this will bring transparency in the process of scholarship distribution and prevent fraud. It has been seen in many cases that due to data mismatch, money goes to wrong accounts or gets stuck, to stop this ‘Bank Seeding’ process has been made mandatory.
Got time till 30th April, fellowship may be stopped
Higher education institutions have been instructed to update the data of all scholarship recipients enrolled with them. Students whose Aadhaar is not yet linked to their bank account and scholarship portal have been given time till April 30, 2026. If the process is not completed within this time limit, the next installment of the concerned student will be withheld. UGC has asked the institutions to make students aware of this process so that there is no hindrance in their research work.
Data will have to be updated on ‘Canara Bank’ portal
Most of the UGC fellowships are managed through the portal of ‘Canara Bank’. Students have been advised to check the status of ‘Aadhaar Mapping’ by contacting their bank. Along with entering the Aadhaar number on the portal, it must also be ensured that the concerned bank account is in ‘Active’ status. The Commission has also clarified that merely having Aadhaar linked is not enough, but it is also necessary for the bank account to be seeded on the NPCI mapper.
Transparency and duplication will be controlled
The main objective of this step of the government is to implement the principle of ‘One Student-One Scholarship’. There were often complaints that some students were availing fellowships from two different bodies simultaneously. Making Aadhaar linking mandatory will make it easier to identify such cases. Although this process may be a bit challenging for students studying in remote areas, UGC has called it a big step towards Digital India.
