Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026 to provide Rs 1.5 lakh per year to girl scholars from low-income families

The Kotak Education Foundation (KEF) has launched the Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026 to fund higher education for meritorious girl students from underserved sections of society. The Kotak Kanya scholarship includes a grant of Rs 1.5 lakh per scholar per year until the completion of the graduate course.

The financial assistant of the Kotak Kanya scholarship also covers professional courses such as engineering, MBBS, architecture, design, and integrated LLB at NIRF-accredited institutes of repute, according to an official notice.

Ridhi Bhatia, senior vice president, group CSR, Kotak Mahindra Bank said: “Education is one of the most powerful drivers of long-term community development. However, for many deserving young women, financial constraints continue to limit access to professional higher education at a pivotal stage in their lives. Through the Kotak Kanya Scholarship, we seek to ensure that merit and ambition - not economic circumstance - shape a young woman's future, enabling her to unlock her potential and create lasting impact for her family, community and beyond.”

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Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026: Eligibility

The meritorious girl students will also be taught life skills, given mentoring, and mental well-being sessions. The foundation will select scholars from 136 top institutions across India.

The Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026 is open to meritorious girl students from India, who have scored 75% or more marks or equivalent CGPA in Class 12 board exams.

The eligibility criteria for the Kotak Kanya scholarship says that the girl student’s family income must be less than Rs 6 lakh.

The grant will be released if the girl student secured admission to the first year of a professional graduate programme at an NIRF or NAAC-accredited institute of repute in streams such as engineering, MBBS, integrated LLB (5-year), integrated BS-MS, BS research (IISER, IISc Bangalore), design or architecture.

Notably, students of Kotak Mahindra Group, Kotak Education Foundation, and Buddy4Study are not eligible to apply for the Kotak Kanya Scholarship 2026.