Verified against official sources — 1 Nov 2026

Telangana's Overseas Scholarship (MJPOVN): Who Can Apply, From India or the UK

NEW Published 1 November 2026

Illustration of a scholarship award letter and a student with a suitcase travelling from India to a UK university

The Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Overseas Vidya Nidhi, read straight from the Telangana government's own orders: BC and EBC eligibility, the income and age limits, the test scores, the Rs.20 lakh grant, and what the rules do — and do not — say about applying after you reach the UK.

Every UK intake, the same questions circulate in Telugu student groups: is the Telangana overseas scholarship open to my category, does a one-year UK master's count, which test scores are enough, and can I still apply now that I am already in the UK? The answers sit in three government orders and one official portal page — not in consultancy posts. This guide works through the scheme's own text: G.O.Ms.No.23 of 10 October 2016, which created it, and the two November 2017 orders (G.O.Ms.No.66 and G.O.Ms.No.22) that changed its income limit, age limit, test scores and country list. Where the 2016 and 2017 texts differ, this guide follows the later orders — and says so.

Quick answer

MJPOVN is the Telangana BC Welfare Department's overseas scholarship for Backward Classes (BC) and Economically Backward Classes (EBC) students pursuing postgraduate or PhD study in ten listed countries, including the UK. The headline conditions: family income under Rs.5.00 lakh a year, age not over 35 as on 1 July of the advertisement year, at least 60% in your degree, one child per family, and minimum test scores (TOEFL 60, IELTS 6.0, GRE 260, GMAT 500 or PTE 50). The grant is up to Rs.20 lakh, paid in two Rs.10 lakh instalments, plus a one-way economy air ticket up to Rs.50,000 and actual visa charges. You register online on the Telangana ePASS portal — and the portal will only take your registration once you hold your admission evidence (COE/I-20 or equivalent) and your visa. SC, ST and Minority students are not in this scheme: they have separate overseas schemes on the same portal.

SECTION 01What MJPOVN Is, and Who Runs It

The scheme's full name is the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule BC Overseas Vidya Nidhi. The Government of Telangana introduced it through the Backward Classes Welfare Department in G.O.Ms.No.23, dated 10 October 2016, for students belonging to Backward Classes who want to pursue higher studies at foreign universities, starting from the year 2016-17. The order's stated reasoning is blunt: BC students are "often handicapped because of their extreme backwardness and poverty and inability to access the benefit of education abroad". The scheme began with a target of 300 BC students every year.

Administration sits inside Telangana's welfare machinery. Selection is made by a State Level Screening Committee chaired by the Principal Secretary, BC Welfare, with the Commissioner, BC Welfare as convenor; under the 2017 modification order, the Drawing and Disbursing Officer in the Commissioner's office is the competent authority for disbursement for all districts. Applications, results and status run through one official website: the Telangana ePASS portal (telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in), whose Overseas Scholarship Services page carries the scheme's current guidelines summary and links to the government orders themselves.

SECTION 02Who Can Apply: BC and EBC — and Where Everyone Else Fits

This is the point the Instagram threads most often get wrong: MJPOVN is not a general Telangana overseas scholarship. It is the BC and EBC scheme. The ePASS Overseas page carries separate registration blocks — overseas scholarships for SC students, for ST students, the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Overseas Vidya Nidhi for BC and EBC students, and a scheme for Minority students — each with its own guidelines and government orders. SC students have the Ambedkar Overseas Vidya Nidhi; ST students their own Ambedkar Overseas Vidya Nidhi block; Minority students the Chief Minister's Overseas Scholarship Scheme. Same portal, different doors, different orders.

Within MJPOVN, the BC seats follow reservation and merit. The 2016 order allocates the physical target proportionately to the BC communities: BC-A 29%, BC-B 42% and BC-D 29% — a split that expressly excludes BC-C and BC-E, and excludes certain communities within BC-A and BC-B that are covered by the Minority Welfare Department instead. The same order earmarks 33% of the awards for women candidates, within an allocation that also includes 3% for physically challenged students. The portal's published results follow exactly this shape: separate selected lists and merit lists are posted for BC-A, BC-B, BC-D and EBC for each session.

For students from the general (OC) categories, the only opening inside this scheme is the EBC reservation. G.O.Ms.No.22 (2017) records that 5% of the 300 students — 15 seats — "shall be reserved/considered for Economically Backward Classes students", and the uniform 2017 order, G.O.Ms.No.66, states the same 5% of the BC target for EBCs. There is no open-category quota beyond that, and no reading of the orders turns MJPOVN into an all-category scheme. If you are neither BC nor EBC, this scheme is not your route; other states run their own overseas schemes with their own rules, so if your home state is not Telangana, check your own state welfare department's official portal rather than assuming these conditions transfer.

SECTION 03The Eligibility Conditions, as Amended

Income. The current ceiling is family income of less than Rs.5.00 lakh per annum from all sources. That is the figure the ePASS portal prints today, and it comes from G.O.Ms.No.22 (2017), which raised the limit and states that the enhanced limit "will apply only for Overseas Scholarship scheme". The 2016 order's lower figures (Rs.1.5 lakh rural / Rs.2 lakh urban) are superseded. Two refinements from the orders: for the income test, the income counted is the parents' — plus the student's own if the student is employed — and the income certificate must be obtained through Mee Seva; for employed parents, a salary certificate from the employer is a must, with the latest tax assessment and salary slip enclosed.

Age. Your age must not exceed 35 years as on 1 July of the year of advertisement. That too is a 2017 change — G.O.Ms.No.22 raised the maximum from the original 30, expressly aligning it with the SC/ST overseas scheme.

Marks and admission. You need 60% marks or an equivalent grade in your foundation degree — the 2016 order lists Engineering, Management, Pure Sciences, Agriculture Sciences, Medicine and Nursing, Social Sciences and Humanities. You must have obtained admission in an accredited foreign university, hold a valid passport, and make your own efforts to secure the admission: the scheme funds a place you have won yourself; it does not place you. The award is one child per family, once in a lifetime — the awardee "can be awarded only once in a life time", supported by a self-certificate. A relaxation of the 60% floor exists only as a case-by-case government consideration, where a candidate has adequate test scores and an unconditional admission and registrations have fallen short within the allocated budget — a discretion, not an entitlement, as G.O.Ms.No.22 states in terms.

SECTION 04Countries and Courses — Including the One-Year Master's Question

The eligible country list, as it stands after the 2017 orders and as printed on the portal, has ten countries: USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, France and South Korea. The 2016 order named only five (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore); G.O.Ms.No.66 added the other five uniformly across the welfare departments' overseas schemes. A related 2017 rule reserves 10% of overseas scholarships for Humanities, Economics, Accounts, Arts and Law students, and allows a second postgraduate degree ("Double P.G.") only for admission in Humanities.

On course level, the scheme is written by level, not by length. The 2016 order opens the scheme to eligible graduates "to pursue Post Graduate studies abroad", and G.O.Ms.No.22 (2017) adds: "Ph.D Courses are also eligible under the scheme." Nothing in the three orders sets a minimum course duration, and nothing excludes a one-year programme. A standard UK master's — one year, full-time — is a postgraduate course at a UK university, and on the text of the orders it sits inside the scheme's level-based wording. Be precise about the strength of that answer, though: no official passage says in so many words that "one-year courses are eligible". It follows from the eligibility being defined by level (PG, and PhD after 2017) with no duration condition anywhere in the scheme text we read. If a current session notification ever adds a duration condition, the notification would control for that session — one more reason to read the live notification before you rely on this.

SECTION 05Test Scores: The Current Minimums, and the Two-Score Merit Rule

The minimum scores currently in force are the November 2017 ones. G.O.Ms.No.22 states that the student should have a valid TOEFL/IELTS/GRE/GMAT/PTE with minimum scores of: TOEFL 60, IELTS 6.0, GRE 260, GMAT 500, PTE 50. G.O.Ms.No.66 prints the same table (without PTE). If you have seen higher figures — TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5, GRE 280, GMAT 550 — those are the original 2016 minimums in G.O.Ms.No.23's document list, superseded by the 2017 orders. The portal's own notes point applicants to G.O.Ms.No.22 and G.O.Ms.No.66 for the score position, which is why this guide follows them.

Meeting the minimums is only half the test story, because selection is a merit list, and the portal's note to MJPOVN applicants is explicit: from GRE/GMAT and TOEFL/IELTS/PTE, "it is mandatory to have any two of the above score in order to come in merit list, even though the universities where you are taking admission does not require them." The merit weightage, set by G.O.Ms.No.66 and repeated on the portal, is: graduation marks 60%, GRE/GMAT 20%, TOEFL/IELTS/PTE 20%. In plain terms: a UK offer made without a GRE does not exempt you from the scheme's own test requirement — to be ranked, you need two scores at or above the minimums, and higher scores strengthen your merit position.

SECTION 06The Money: Rs.20 Lakh in Two Instalments, Plus Ticket and Visa Charges

The grant is up to Rs.20 lakh, or the amount in your admission letter, whichever is less — the portal's summary and the orders agree on the cap. The 2016 order structures it as fees payable in two instalments of Rs.10 lakh: the first on production of the landing permit / I-94 card (the immigration record of your arrival), the second on production of your first-semester results. Sanction proceedings specifying the Rs.20 lakh are issued to the selected candidate towards fees and living expenses, conditional on joining the course — and the 2016 order notes the sanction proceedings can be used by the candidate for obtaining the visa from the respective embassy.

Two extras sit on top of the Rs.20 lakh. The one-way economy air ticket is paid up to a maximum of Rs.50,000 or the actual fare, whichever is less — that cap is set by G.O.Ms.No.22, which also provides that actual visa charges are paid separately, in addition to the scheme amount. And if the grant does not cover your full cost, the scheme anticipates a top-up loan: the 2016 order makes the student eligible for an educational loan from a nationalised bank, and G.O.Ms.No.22 adds that the department may issue a "to whom so ever concerned" letter recording your selection and the assistance, to help you obtain a bank loan for the additional amount required. Awardees may also supplement their allowances with research or teaching assistantship earnings.

SECTION 07When and How to Apply: Sessions, the Portal, and the Visa-First Rule

The machinery runs in two sessions a year. Under the 2016 order's procedure, a notification is issued in leading dailies, with publicity on university campuses and on the ePASS portal, in August/September and again in January/February; students apply online from 1 August to 30 September and again from 1 January to 28/29 February. Treat those as the scheme's built-in rhythm rather than a promise for any particular year: each session's actual notification is what opens registration, and when we checked the portal on 1 November 2026 the MJPOVN block read "Registrations Closed". The same page is where the next opening will appear — the Overseas Scholarship Services page of telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in is the single official place to watch.

The registration itself is online through that page. One condition shapes everyone's planning, and the portal states it twice: students with COE/I-20 and visa only are eligible to apply — "Students Only with COE/I20 and VISA only to apply for the Scheme." In UK terms, read COE/I-20 as your admission evidence (the portal's own form of words for admission documents); the practical meaning is that MJPOVN registration is a post-admission, post-visa step. You secure the admission, obtain the visa, and then register within a session window. That is also why the first instalment is keyed to your landing permit: the scheme's money follows your arrival and enrolment, in the two instalments described above.

SECTION 08Selection, Sanction — and the "Pending Budget" Question

Selection is conducted by the State Level Screening Committee described in Section 01, applying the reservation split and the merit weightage (graduation 60%, GRE/GMAT 20%, English test 20%). The portal publishes the outputs openly: for every session from 2021 onwards, the Overseas page carries the selected lists and merit lists for BC-A, BC-B, BC-D and EBC, split by Spring (January/February) and Fall (August/September) sessions. After selection, the disciplines are strict: you must join the university within one year of the communication of selection or the award is automatically cancelled, with no extension permissible; you cannot change the course of study (or, under the 2017 uniform order, the university or research topic) for which the scholarship was sanctioned; and utilisation certificates, endorsed by the university authorities, are obtained from the student for the record.

Instagram threads carry a running complaint that sanctioned amounts stay "pending" for years. Nothing in the official text we read speaks to disbursement delays, and this guide will not repeat the claim as fact. What the official record does show is a paper trail you can check yourself: the per-session selected lists on the portal, and the portal's Status/Upload facility for your own application. If your instalment is stuck, the official route is your application status on ePASS and the BC Welfare Department.

SECTION 09Already in the UK? What the Rules Do and Do Not Say

Now the question behind this guide's title. Read the orders carefully and one thing is clear: nothing in G.O.Ms.No.23, G.O.Ms.No.66 or G.O.Ms.No.22 says an applicant must apply before leaving India, or must be physically in India to register. Registration is online. The portal's gate is documentary, not geographic — you need your admission evidence and your visa, documents a student already in the UK holds as a matter of course. And G.O.Ms.No.22 goes further in one specific situation: "The students who have not applied for 1st installment/1st year shall be eligible for 2nd installment/2nd year under the Scheme." In other words, missing the first year does not, by itself, shut the scheme's door; the second instalment remains open to a student who did not claim the first.

Hold that answer at exactly that strength. No official passage says, in terms, "a student already studying abroad may newly register" — the position above is what the text supports when the portal rule and the 2017 second-instalment clause are read together, and this guide flags it as such. Practical cautions follow from the documents, not geography: your caste and income certificates come through Mee Seva, your file moves through certificate verification (the portal carries an upload facility for it), and registration is only possible inside a session window the department actually opens. If you are in the UK now, the realistic reading is: prepare your scores and documents, watch the Overseas page for the next session, and if your course will still be running, the second-instalment clause is the provision that matters most — confirm your position with the BC Welfare Department before planning money around it.

SECTION 10The Document List

The 2016 order lists the documents to submit, and marks all of them mandatory. With the test-score figures updated to the 2017 minimums, the list is:

Caste certificate issued by Mee Seva
Income certificate issued by Mee Seva
Date of birth certificate
Aadhaar card
ePASS ID number
Residential / Nativity certificate
Passport copy
Mark sheets from SSC / Inter / Graduate / PG level
Valid TOEFL/IELTS and GRE/GMAT scores at the scheme minimums (currently TOEFL 60, IELTS 6.0, GRE 260, GMAT 500, PTE 50 under the 2017 orders)
Admission offer letter from the foreign university (I-20, letter of admission or equivalent)
Copy of the latest tax assessment
Copy of the bank passbook of a nationalised bank
Scanned photograph for upload

Two warnings from the orders themselves. First, applications incomplete in any respect are liable to be rejected — the 2016 order says so expressly. Second, the 2017 uniform order requires applicants to fill in their qualification marks (secured marks and total marks) in the online application, and warns that applicants who give false details face rejection and action against them. Keep your mark sheets beside you when you fill the form, and enter what they say — not what a converter or a consultancy estimates.

FAQFrequently Asked Questions

I am an SC or ST student. Is MJPOVN my scheme?

No. MJPOVN is the BC and EBC scheme. SC students apply under the Ambedkar Overseas Vidya Nidhi (SC) block and ST students under the Ambedkar Overseas Vidya Nidhi (ST) block on the same ePASS Overseas Scholarship Services page; Minority students have the Chief Minister's Overseas Scholarship Scheme. Each scheme has its own government orders and guidelines on that page.

I am from a general (OC) family. Can I get anything from this scheme?

Only through the EBC reservation: G.O.Ms.No.22 (2017) reserves 5% of the 300 sanctioned seats — 15 seats — for Economically Backward Classes students, inside the scheme's income ceiling of under Rs.5.00 lakh a year. There is no other open-category route in MJPOVN's orders.

Does a one-year UK master's qualify?

On the text of the orders, yes. Eligibility is written by level — postgraduate study, with PhD courses added in 2017 — and none of the three orders sets a minimum course duration. No official passage says "one-year courses are eligible" in so many words, so read the current session's notification as well; it would control if it ever added a condition the orders do not contain.

My university did not ask for GRE. Do I still need test scores?

Yes, for the merit list. The portal's note to MJPOVN applicants says it is mandatory to have any two of the listed scores — from GRE/GMAT and TOEFL/IELTS/PTE — to come into the merit list, even if your university did not require them. The merit weightage is graduation 60%, GRE/GMAT 20% and English test 20%.

I am already studying in the UK. Is it too late to apply?

The orders contain no rule requiring you to apply before departure, and registration is online — but the portal requires your admission evidence and visa before you can register, and registration only opens inside notified session windows. G.O.Ms.No.22 also keeps students who did not apply for the first instalment/first year eligible for the second instalment/second year. No official text addresses already-abroad students in terms, so treat this as a careful reading, not a guarantee, and confirm with the BC Welfare Department.

Editorial note: This AllVisaUpdates guide is general educational information — not legal or financial advice. The scheme rules above are the Telangana government's own orders (G.O.Ms.No.23 of 2016 and G.O.Ms.No.22 and G.O.Ms.No.66 of 2017) and the Telangana ePASS portal's Overseas Scholarship Services page, checked on 1 November 2026. Scheme notifications are issued session by session; the live portal, not this guide, is the authority on whether registration is open today.

Official references and verification status

These official references were accessed and checked on 1 November 2026, and this guide's claims were verified against them (see the accompanying sources file). Three honest limits. First, the scheme's rules are layered: the 2016 order created MJPOVN, and two November 2017 orders then changed the income ceiling (to under Rs.5.00 lakh), the age limit (to 35), the test minimums and the country list — where the texts conflict, this guide follows the later orders, which are also the ones the portal points applicants to. Secondly, two questions students ask most — whether a one-year course qualifies, and whether a student already in the UK can newly register — are not answered in terms by any official passage we could read; Sections 04 and 09 state what the level-based wording and the second-instalment clause support, flagged as readings of the text, not quotations from it. Thirdly, when checked on 1 November 2026 the portal showed MJPOVN registrations as closed; the session windows described here are the scheme's standing pattern from the 2016 order, and each session's own notification is what actually opens registration.

General educational information, not individualized legal or immigration advice. Follow the official instructions for your own situation, and consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK for advice about an individual case.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.