Reliance Foundation Scholarships 2026-27: The Full Story, Every Date, Every Detail

Reliance Foundation opened applications for its 2026-27 scholarships on 14 August 2026, on the eve of Independence Day. The programme is one of the largest private scholarships in the country, and it comes in two tracks.

One important clarification before we go further, because this confuses people every year. The Rs 2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh figures are the maximum support over the full duration of your degree. It is not that amount per year. Still, for a family managing college fees, hostel and books, it is serious money, and it never has to be repaid.

The scale of this programme has a backstory. Reliance has been running scholarships for over 25 years, and the current avatar is part of a commitment to fund 50,000 scholarships over ten years, announced by Mrs Nita Ambani on the 90th birth anniversary of founder Dhirubhai Ambani. More than 23,000 students have already been through Reliance Foundation programmes. In a typical year, over 1.25 lakh students apply for the roughly 5,100 slots, so treat this as a competition worth preparing for, not a form you fill casually.

The UG track is deliberately broad. Arts, science, commerce, engineering, medicine, law, any regular full-time undergraduate degree qualifies. The conditions:

• You must be a resident Indian citizen. NRI, OCI and foreign passport holders are not eligible.
• You must be enrolled in the first year of a regular, full-time undergraduate degree in the 2026-27 academic year.
• Your household’s annual income must be below Rs 15 lakh. This is the “means” part of merit-cum-means, and the income threshold is generous enough that most middle-class families qualify.
• The 2026-27 notification asks for strong Class 12 performance, with coverage of the notification indicating a minimum of around 60 percent. Confirm the exact figure in the official FAQ before applying.

The Foundation has also said it specifically encourages applications from girls and specially-abled students. If that describes you or your daughter or your sister, take the hint seriously.

The PG track is a different animal. Only 100 scholarships, up to Rs 6 lakh each, aimed at what the Foundation calls future-ready fields connected to Engineering, Technology, Energy and Life Sciences. Streams named in the notification include Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics and Computing, and Electrical and Electronics Engineering, among related areas.

The bar is higher too. Reported thresholds for 2026-27 require either a strong GATE score of around 550 plus or an undergraduate CGPA of roughly 7.5 or above. PG applicants also need two letters of recommendation, and those letters have their own separate deadline, 12 October 2026, a week after the main application closes. Ask your professors early. A reference letter requested on 10 October is a recipe for a polite refusal.

The deadline is a hard cutoff. The portal does not entertain late submissions, and every scholarship season produces a fresh batch of students who discovered the programme on 6 October.

Here is the part most articles bury, and it is genuinely the heart of the selection. Every applicant must take a mandatory online aptitude test. Your application is considered complete only after you finish it.

What we know about the test from the official process:

• It is conducted online and remotely proctored, meaning your camera stays on and the system monitors the attempt. Take it seriously, alone, in a quiet room.
• Coverage of the 2026-27 cycle describes it as roughly an hour long, testing verbal, analytical and numerical reasoning.
• After you submit your application, you receive a confirmation email with your test date and time. One week before the test, you get your unique exam link along with a practice test link.
• Use that practice test. It exists to familiarise you with the format, and skipping it is throwing away a free advantage.

Selection then combines your aptitude score with your academic record, personal information and financial background. Shortlisted candidates go through document verification before final selection. Meeting the eligibility rules gets you into the race, the test largely decides where you finish.

1. Go to the official portal, scholarships.reliancefoundation.org. Apply nowhere else, and pay nobody who claims to help for a fee.
2. Fill the online Eligibility Questionnaire on the site.
3. If you clear it, you receive an email invitation with a username and password for the application portal.
4. Log in, complete the scholarship application form and upload your documents.
5. Submit, then watch your email for the aptitude test schedule.
6. Take the practice test when the link arrives, then the final proctored test.
7. Wait for results, expected by the end of December 2026.

Gather these before you start, the upload step goes from stressful to boring when the folder is ready:

• Class 10 and Class 12 marksheets
• Proof of admission to your current first-year programme, such as the admission letter or fee receipt
• Household income proof, an income certificate or the documents the portal specifies
• Aadhaar or equivalent identity proof
• Passport-size photograph
• For PG applicants, your UG marksheets or CGPA proof, GATE scorecard if applicable, and the two recommendation letters lined up

The cheque is only half the programme, and past scholars usually say it is the smaller half. Selected scholars get leadership and soft-skills workshops, mentoring, expert interactions, volunteering opportunities and entry into the Reliance Foundation Scholars Network, the alumni community that keeps giving access to mentorship and peer connections long after college ends. For a first-generation college student especially, that network can quietly matter more than the Rs 2 lakh.

• Waiting for the last week. The eligibility questionnaire, email invite and portal application form a chain, and each link takes time. Start now.
• Treating the aptitude test casually. It is the single biggest selection factor, and it is proctored. Prepare like it is a real exam, because it is.
• Wrong income documents. The merit-cum-means model verifies financials. Mismatched or missing income proof stalls otherwise strong applications.
• PG applicants forgetting the reference letters. Two letters, separate deadline of 12 October, professors need lead time.
• Paying an agent. The application is free at every stage. Anyone charging money to “guarantee” this scholarship is running a scam.

Is the Rs 2 lakh given every year? No. Up to Rs 2 lakh for UG and up to Rs 6 lakh for PG is the total support across the full duration of the degree, disbursed as per the Foundation’s schedule.

Can second-year or third-year students apply? No. Both tracks are only for students in the first year of their programme in 2026-27. If you are a first-year student now, this is your one window.

I am in a distance or part-time course. Am I eligible? No. Only regular, full-time degree programmes qualify.

Is there any application fee or test fee? None. The application and the aptitude test are completely free.

My family income is above Rs 15 lakh. Can I still apply for UG? No. The UG track’s income ceiling is below Rs 15 lakh per year, verified through documents.

When will results come? Applicants are expected to be informed by the end of December 2026, per the official FAQ.

Somewhere between coaching fees, admission chaos and the relief of finally starting college, scholarship deadlines slip past quietly. This one is worth an evening of your time. The form is free, the test is preparable, and the upside is up to Rs 2 lakh, or Rs 6 lakh for PG scholars, plus a network that outlasts the money.

The window closes 5 October 2026. Open scholarships.reliancefoundation.org today, run through the eligibility questionnaire, and forward this article to one first-year student who has not heard about it yet. That forward might be worth two lakh rupees to someone.