The Union Social Justice Ministry is planning to raise the annual household income eligibility standards for post-matric scholarship schemes for Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, and Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes college students from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4.5 lakh from the 2026-27 fiscal 12 months onwards.
Informing a departmentally associated House panel, the federal government has additionally famous that widespread revisions are being deliberate for varied scholarship schemes administered by the Social Justice and Tribal Affairs Ministries for college students from SC, ST, OBC, and DNT communities.
The authorities is wanting to rename the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for SC college students to “Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Overseas Scholarship Scheme”, enhance the variety of slots underneath this scheme from 125 to 250, enhance the upkeep allowance by 25%, and introduce a brand new class to accommodate youngsters of sanitary employees.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry has knowledgeable the panel {that a} related NOS scheme for ST college students can also be being revised, with a proposal being submitted to enhance the variety of slots from 20 to 50 and raise the monetary help from $15,400 to $19,250.
In addition to this, the federal government is proposing adjustments in schemes such because the free teaching scheme for SCs and OBCs, through which the plan is to double the variety of slots and the stipend quantity and to permit State universities to be empanelled to present teaching as properly. Further, the top-class scholarships for SC college students past Class XII is being proposed to be modified to a “saturation-based” programme as opposed to having a set variety of slots.
Additionally, a proposal can also be being ready to launch a brand new scheme known as “SAMRAS”, to construct “high-capacity hostels in Central universities for SC, ST, OBC, EBC, and DNTs, and even for the general category students”.
The adjustments proposed to the post-matric scholarship for SCs additionally embrace a provision to put aside 1% of the funds allocation for elevating consciousness in regards to the scholarship.
These adjustments within the schemes from the subsequent monetary cycle (2026-27 to 2030-31) onwards are being proposed by the respective ministries to the Expenditure Finance Committee, which is anticipated to evaluation and determine on them in time for the subsequent cycle to start. The proposals for adjustments to these schemes had been revealed by the federal government of their interactions with the departmentally associated standing committee on social justice and empowerment.
This committee had final 12 months advisable that the income ceiling eligibility standards for a number of scholarship schemes ought to be elevated and had additionally known as for the variety of slots underneath these schemes to be raised. On Wednesday, in stories on the Demand for Grants tabled by this committee for each the Social Justice and Tribal Affairs Ministries, it famous the replies submitted by the federal government on proposals for adjustments to scholarship, teaching, and hostel schemes.
Lack of coherence
The committee went on to specific issues that the Social Justice Ministry’s expenditure shouldn’t be assembly the Budget Estimates which might be being deliberate at the start of the fiscal 12 months. It additionally famous {that a} important quantity of funds for the SC, Backward Classes, and Social Defence divisions had been surrendered by the Ministry within the 2024-25 fiscal 12 months. However, the panel concluded that it felt the underutilisation of funds was due to “lack of coherence between the Central and State Governments”.
In its submissions to the House panel, recorded by the committee within the stories tabled on Wednesday, the federal government mentioned that underneath the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme for OBCs, EBCs, and DNTs, yearly scholarship quantities are being proposed to be raised for diploma and post-graduate ranges (From ₹20,000 to ₹25,000), skilled programs main to levels, diplomas, and certificates (from ₹13,000 to ₹15,000), and for Class XI and XII ranges (from ₹5,000 to ₹7,000).
In addition, underneath this scheme, an extra quantity of ₹2,000 every year can be for technical and vocational programs being pursued on the Class XI and XII ranges.
Further, underneath the free teaching scheme for SCs and OBCs, the federal government is proposing to enhance the variety of slots from 3,500 to 7,000. Of these new complete slots, the division is planning to preserve 3,000 slots for Central universities and a pair of,000 for State universities. In addition, there are plans to introduce a “student-centric mode”, underneath which college students can select to examine at teaching centres of their selection, for which the remaining 2,000 slots can be reserved.
In its report on the Demand for Grants for Social Justice Ministry, the House panel famous that the NAMASTE scheme for addressing deaths due to hazardous cleansing of sewers and septic tanks wants extra allocations, additional expressing “shock” that regardless of over three many years of the Prevention of Atrocities Act (SC/ST Act) being in place, “only seven States/union territories have special police stations”.
The committee says that amongst proposals despatched to the EFC for the subsequent cycle, the federal government additionally intends to enhance the reduction quantities which might be paid to victims and their households underneath this legislation and raise funds despatched to States for organising particular police stations.
