will introduce full tuition fee scholarships for students securing a place among the top 1,000 rankers in its entrance examination from the 2027 admission cycle, expanding financial support for academically gifted students from families with an annual income of up to ₹20 lakh.
Under the expanded scheme, eligible students will receive a 100% waiver on tuition fees throughout their four-year undergraduate programme, provided they maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 7.5. The scholarship will be incorporated into admission offers, removing the need for students to submit a separate application after securing admission.
BITS Pilani Group Vice Chancellor V Ramgopal Rao confirmed the initiative in an interview with news agency PTI on Sunday, describing it as an effort to ensure that financial constraints do not prevent high-performing students from choosing the institution.
The expanded scholarship programme will cover students who meet the following criteria:
The scholarship will apply to undergraduate programmes at BITS Pilani’s campuses. Its entrance examination, the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test (BITSAT), is used to select candidates for integrated first-degree courses, including Bachelor of Engineering (BE), Master of Science (MSc) and Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharma).
The decision follows a significant increase in the number of high-ranking BITSAT candidates choosing the institution under its existing financial assistance programme.
Rao said admissions among eligible students from the top 500 BITSAT rankers increased by 50% in 2026. The examination score needed to secure a place in this category also rose from 314 to 324.
The institution also recorded stronger enrolment among candidates ranked between 501 and 1,000, despite their exclusion from the existing initiative.
Overall, the number of students joining BITS Pilani from the top 1,000 BITSAT rankers increased by 50%, Rao told PTI.
The expanded programme will bring the additional rank bracket within the full tuition fee scholarship framework, subject to the prescribed family income and academic conditions.
The new initiative builds on the institution’s existing financial assistance programmes.
through scholarships, fee waivers and fellowships during the 2025-26 academic year across its First Degree, Higher Degree and PhD programmes.
Undergraduate students received ₹101 crore of this amount through merit-based scholarships, merit-cum-need assistance and international student scholarships.
According to the institution, financial support reached approximately one in every four students across its campuses.
The expanded scholarship scheme is scheduled to take effect with the 2027 admission cycle, extending full tuition support to a larger group of high-performing BITSAT candidates.
