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Note: The article deals with financial aid available for, but not exclusive to the students enrolled in Undergraduate (UG) programmes at IIT Bombay.
Financial Aid at IIT Bombay
Financial aid through scholarships has been a crucial part of students’ experience on campus. For many students, pursuing an education at IIT Bombay is not only an academic journey but also a significant financial commitment. Beyond tuition fees, students may have to account for hostel and mess charges, academic expenses, and other costs associated with campus life. To help ease this burden, IIT Bombay offers a range of scholarships, and financial assistance schemes for students across different programmes and years of study.
These provisions are designed to support students based on various criteria, including academic performance, family income, category, and specific financial or academic circumstances. In addition to institute-funded scholarships, students can also access scholarships offered through government schemes, private organisations, and other external bodies, which are discussed briefly moving ahead in the article.
With several schemes operating under different eligibility criteria, application procedures, and award amounts, navigating the available options can sometimes be difficult. This article aims to provide a consolidated overview of the scholarships and financial aid available to students at IIT Bombay, along with their eligibility requirements, application processes, and key considerations, in an attempt to help students identify the support they may be eligible to receive.
Eligibility for Scholarships
Scholarships at IIT Bombay are awarded for a plethora of reasons, from need-based to merit-based. These scholarship applications are invited twice in a single academic year, once in June, while other in August. This is to ensure that the students who may have missed any opportunity do not get exempted from the financial aid available. The process takes place through a single channel (my IITB portal) involving submission of proof, a self-declaration, followed by awarding the scholarship which may be best suitable for the student. The following sections in the article provide a breakdown of the various scholarships and financial aid schemes, along with their respective eligibility criteria, to help students identify the opportunities relevant to them.
Various Scholarships for Undergraduates at Campus
The umbrella of scholarships at campus encompasses multiple sections that cover financial aid provided by the institute, by private scholarships, and by other alternatives, respectively. They may be branched as follows:
- Merit-cum-Means Scholarship
- Remission of Fees
- Free Messing Facilities for SC/ST Students
- All Named Scholarships (Donors, Well-wishers, & Corporations)
- IIT Bombay Alumni Association (IITBAA) & IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation (IITBHF)
- Financial Aid Programme (FAP)
(1) Institute-provided Aid
Note : Below scholarships are eligible for students of B.Tech., Dual Degree (B.Tech. + M.Tech.), B.S. and B.Des. Programme. For the Dual Degree (B.Tech. + M.Tech.) programme, it is available only up to the 4th year.
(1A) Merit-cum-Means Scholarship
Awarded to a maximum of 25% of the sanctioned intake of undergraduate students.
Criteria : 2 kinds, Merit and Means
- Merit : For new entrants, their JEE (Advanced) All India Rank or their UCEED Rank (for B.Des. students) is the criterion. In subsequent years, academic performance in the preceding year is considered.
- Means : Parental income of student in current financial year is considered. A copy of the Parental Income Certificate, issued by the Competent Authority in various states/Union Territories which varies from state to state (ref.) for the preceding year is required to be submitted along with the application for the scholarship every year.
The income distribution in the means criterion* and the corresponding benefits are as follows:
| Income limit | Benefits for Women Students (UG) * | Benefits for Others Students (UG) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to Rs. 1 Lakh |
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| Above Rs. 1 Lakh up to 3 Lakhs |
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| Above Rs. 3 Lakhs up to 5 Lakhs |
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(1B) Remission of Fees
Criteria : Students whose Gross Parental Income for the previous Financial year does not exceed Rs 5,00,000/- per annum (without any standard deduction)
Benefits : Under this scheme, the ‘economically backward’ students are eligible for remission of tuition fee as follows:
- Those with a parental income less than Rs. 1 Lakh per annum shall get full remission of the tuition fees.
- Those with a parental income between Rs.1 Lakh and Rs. 5 Lakhs per annum shall get remission of 2/3rd of the tuition fees
(1C) Free Messing Facilities for SC/ST Students
According to the institute rules, all SC/ST students are exempted from the payment of tuition fees, while select SC/ST students are granted the facilities of free messing based on income limit.
| Income limit | Benefits for Women Students (UG)* | Benefits for Others Students (UG) |
|---|---|---|
| Upto Rs. 5 Lakh |
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| Pocket allowance is payable for 10 months for every Academic year. | ||
*Latest amendment in the institute-provided scholarship:
In addition to the above-mentioned provisions , a new scholarship bracket for students with parental income between INR 5 lakh and INR 25 lakh per annum has been introduced for the current academic session.
As explained by the IIT Bombay Development and Relations Foundation (IITBDRF) team in an interview, this initiative is supported by donor-funded scholarships (see Section 2: Private Scholarships) and is intended to extend financial assistance to students who may not be covered by existing institute scholarship provisions.
According to the team, eligible students with parental income below 5 lakh may receive support towards both academic and hostel fees, while those above 5 lakh may receive tuition-fee support. The allocation is then guided by financial need, with priority given to students requiring greater support.
This expansion seeks to address gaps in existing financial aid coverage and extend assistance to students whose financial circumstances may otherwise leave them without adequate support.
(2) Private Scholarships
In addition to scholarships offered by institute scholarship programmes, IIT Bombay facilitates donor-funded scholarships through its Development and Relations function, working in coordination with the institute’s scholarship team. Alumni, corporate donors and other well-wishers contribute towards students’ educational expenses, with scholarship allocations guided by both donor-defined conditions and students’ financial needs.
Donors may autonomously specify eligibility conditions relating to the student’s department, gender, year of study and other criteria. The institute then matches eligible students with the relevant scholarship opportunities. Where donor-funded assistance overlaps with institute scholarship schemes, coordination between the respective teams helps direct support towards students with greater financial need, including those who may not receive assistance through existing schemes.
The benefits depend on the applicable scholarship and income bracket. These provisions should be distinguished from the benefits offered by individual external scholarship programmes listed** below:
| Sr. No. | Scholarship Name | Eligibility & Procedure | Scholarship Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OP Jindal Engineering & Management Scholarship |
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| 2 | SBI-Platinum Jubilee Asha Scholarship |
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| 3 | Aditya Birla Scholarship |
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| 4 | Rupa Rahul Bajaj Scholarship for women in STEM |
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| 5 | Infosys Foundation STEM Stars Scholarship Programme |
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| 6 | Shri Dorilal Agarwal National Meritorious Scholarship |
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| 7 | Kotak Kanya Scholarship |
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| 8 | IDFC First Bank Scholarship |
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| 9 | Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Domestic Scholarship scheme |
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| 10 | WINGS scholarship for women in STEM |
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Student scholarships remain a major fundraising priority for IIT Bombay’s alumni and corporate relations team (operated under the Dean ACR office).
In further conversation with IITBDRF, Insight notes that the scholarships are regularly highlighted at alumni meetings, chapter events and fundraising campaigns, including initiatives conducted internationally. The programme has been running for more than 25 years, reflecting a sustained effort to involve alumni in supporting students’ education.
Donors may also establish named scholarships in memory of, or in honour of, loved ones. The duration of support depends on the donor’s commitment and may extend for a single academic year or multiple years. Funds are collected throughout the year, while scholarship allocation takes place during the relevant selection cycle.
**The scale of donor-funded assistance can vary from year to year. The team reported that 517 scholarships were awarded in the academic year 2025-26 through named scholarships. As some donors prefer anonymity, a complete public list of individual scholarship donors may not be available, resulting in the list provided above being dynamic in nature.
(3) Other Initiatives
There exist multiple other avenues to accommodate financial aid apart from the already listed ones, which are largely managed by IIT Bombay Alumni Association (IIT-BAA) & IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation (IITBHF) with the help of a cohesive network of alumni and well-wishers of the institute.
Though the programmes and donation drives run by the association go hand-in-hand with the institute’s funding management of disbursement of most scholarships, there exist independent programmes as follows:
Financial Aid Programme (FAP)
Financial Aid Programme (FAP) is a program established in 2007, which comprises an honour-based system of sustainable peer-to-peer support that provides merit- and need-based scholarships to all students of IIT Bombay while also offering career preparedness initiatives, such as industrial visits and mentoring.
The programme is administered by IIT Bombay Alumni Association in collaboration with IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation, Tata Motors Ltd., and Foundation for Excellence (FFE).
This programme accounts for one’s academic fees (including Tuition fees, Accommodation fees & Mess payment) as well as laptop purchase. The programme also allows students whose scholarship is delayed to apply for assistance.
Eligibility for FAP is as follows:
(1) The annual family income must not exceed INR 7.5 lakhs for metro-based candidates and INR 7 lakhs for non-metro-based candidates.
The candidate must maintain a minimum CPI of 6.00. This may be occasionally relaxed on a case-to-case basis. The candidate must have appeared for any IIT qualifying exam (JEE/GATE/UCEED/CEED/JAM).
(2) In the case of students who are not eligible for Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarships awarded by the Institute, FAP supports full tuition and full mess bills. This, however, is subject to the beneficiary meeting the selection criteria.
(3) In the case of students availing Merit-cum-Means (MCM) scholarship, FAP supports whatever component the student cannot afford to pay for. The various components are: tuition fee, examination fee, registration fee, gymkhana fee, medical fee, hostel rent, electricity and water charges, hostel establishment charges, mess establishment charges, student benevolent fund, student accident insurance fund. Since MCM supports only tuition fees and no other components, FAP is aimed at bridging this gap. The students are also considered for assistance if the MCM scholarship is delayed or not received by the student in time, as a short-term ‘bridge assistance’.***
*** Insight notes that the older provision of the MCM scholarship till the academic year 2024-25 involved full payment of all fee components, followed by reimbursement of components refundable as per the scholarship’s provision later in the academic year, causing delay. However, the latest guidelines state that students are required to pay only the components of the fee which remain after removing scholarship components from the total amount payable.
Procedure to apply for FAP:
Unlike the standard procedure involving the scholarship details at the IITB portal for scholarships, a student is expected to register for the programme upon meeting the criteria through a dedicated portal known as the FAP application website, providing the supporting documents and proofs.
On application screening, the applicant is interviewed by a panel formed on a case-to-case basis by a FAP committee involving interested alumni, based on which the decision to provide financial aid is communicated through email.
How is FAP different from other scholarships:
FAP follows a support-and-repayment model in which beneficiaries are encouraged to return the assistance once they begin earning, enabling future students to benefit. In contrast, donor-funded scholarships facilitated through the institute are grants and do not require repayment.
Students’ experiences and a few miles still away
Through interviews conducted by Insight, experiences shared by students and discussions with institute representatives indicate that scholarships can play a significant role in easing the financial burden of an IIT Bombay education. However, awareness of available schemes and timely communication of eligibility requirements remain important challenges.
The usual mode of communicating scholarship opportunities is through institute webmail, which may not always ensure that eligible students notice and act upon the information in time. Additionally, most students, who look out for scholarship opportunities in their freshmen year look up to their respective ISMP mentors for such information to which it may be argued that feasibility of sending out each and every mail personally is a shortcoming. Moreover, a lack of enough knowledge to mentors adds another layer that may need a potential revamp in the coming future.
As noted by one of the Overall Coordinators of the Student Mentor Program 26-27 (SMPC),
“Efforts have also been made to disseminate scholarship information through the NewBee portal, which helps incoming students prepare for life at the institute right after JOSAA allotment; though it may need a more proactive approach to revamp it.”
The scholarship allocation process itself can involve coordination between different teams, particularly where donor-funded assistance and institute schemes overlap. Improving the visibility of available opportunities, clarifying eligibility conditions and communicating application timelines more proactively could help students identify relevant support earlier in their academic journey.
Financial aid is not limited to a single category of student or funding source. A clearer understanding of institute schemes, external scholarships, donor-funded grants and alumni-supported programmes can help students navigate the available options more effectively. Greater awareness, alongside continued alumni and corporate support, could help ensure that financial constraints remain less of a barrier to accessing education while staying here at campus.
Terms used in the article:
IITBAA: Established in 2001, IIT Bombay Alumni Association (IITBAA) creates and maintains a life-long connection between IIT Bombay and its alumni. In collaboration with an extremely dedicated volunteer Board of Directors, the Alumni Association works to connect alumni, support students, and build an unforgettable Institute experience through a diversity of events, programmes and services. More information on its working can be collected here.
IITB-DRF: The Development and Relations Foundation (DRF) is a not-for-profit section 8 unit set up by the Dean ACR office. DRF facilitates Dean ACR’s core mission and engages with our vibrant alumni community, corporations, and foundations with the goal of developing and sustaining long-term relationships. DRF assists Dean ACR’s fundraising endeavours by way of donor solicitations, managing donor programs, maintaining financial accounts and reporting details of all activities implemented with alumni donations. You can find more information here.
Institute Scholarship Section: A part of the academic section that deals with disbursement, and information related to scholarship application, status, and queries. They may be reached out at Second Floor, Main Building, IIT Bombay or through mail at: ugscholarships[at]iitb.ac.in
Financial Year: For proof of income, a valid Income certificate should be generated for the current financial year i.e. on or after April 1 of the academic year. For example, a student applying for a scholarship in the academic year 2026-27 must produce a valid certificate issued on or after April 1, 2026.
In case of any correction related to the information presented in the article, please feel free to reach out to insight[at]iitb.ac.in
