NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council)

What is NAAC?

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) evaluates the quality of higher education institutions in India. Instead of ranking institutions, it awards accreditation grades.

Why is it important?

For the SBI Foundation ASHA Scholarship, NAAC accreditation is also used to determine whether your institution qualifies as a Premier Academic Institution. Applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate course from a premier university or college in India that has a NAAC accreditation of 'A' or above (or is listed among the Top 300 NIRF Institutes). It helps ensure that scholarship support is provided to students studying at recognized and accredited institutions that meet the Foundation's academic standards. 

Please be advised that eligibility is strictly determined by your college's latest, current National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation status. While your college may have been accredited in previous years, expired or past accreditations do not carry over. You will not be eligible unless your institution holds a valid and active NAAC grade for the current year. Therefore, it is mandatory to ensure that your college's NAAC accreditation is up to date to qualify.

Important Note

If you do not find your college in the drop-down menu while submitting your application form, please do not hesitate to write to us if you think we have missed your institution. You may contact us at ashascholarship@sbifoundation.co.in, and after a round of verification, we will add your college to the list. However, we kindly request that you double-check your college's current NAAC accreditation status to ensure it meets the latest eligibility criteria before emailing us.

Applicable Categories:

• Undergraduate (UG) – Institutions must have NAAC 'A' accreditation or above, or be among the Top 300 NIRF Overall Rankings (2025–26).
• Postgraduate (PG) – Institutions must have NAAC 'A' accreditation or above, or be among the Top 300 NIRF Overall Rankings (2025–26).

Example
If the eligibility mentions NAAC 'A' or above, only institutions with the following grades qualify:

• A
• A+
• A++