The Union Social Justice Ministry is planning to raise the annual family income eligibility criteria for post-matric scholarship schemes for Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, and Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes students from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4.5 lakh from the 2026-27 fiscal year onwards.
Informing a departmentally related House panel, the government has also noted that widespread revisions are being planned for various scholarship schemes administered by the Social Justice and Tribal Affairs Ministries for students from SC, ST, OBC, and DNT communities.
The government is looking to rename the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for SC students to “Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Overseas Scholarship Scheme”, increase the number of slots under this scheme from 125 to 250, increase the maintenance allowance by 25%, and introduce a new category to accommodate children of sanitary workers.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry has informed the panel that a similar NOS scheme for ST students is also being revised, with a proposal being submitted to increase the number of slots from 20 to 50 and raise the financial assistance from $15,400 to $19,250.
In addition to this, the government is proposing changes in schemes such as the free coaching scheme for SCs and OBCs, in which the plan is to double the number of slots and the stipend amount and to allow State universities to be empanelled to provide coaching as well. Further, the top-class scholarships for SC students beyond Class XII is being proposed to be changed to a “saturation-based” programme as opposed to having a fixed number of slots.
Additionally, a proposal is also being prepared to launch a new scheme called “SAMRAS”, to build “high-capacity hostels in Central universities for SC, ST, OBC, EBC, and DNTs, and even for the general category students”.
The changes proposed to the post-matric scholarship for SCs also include a provision to set aside 1% of the budget allocation for raising awareness about the scholarship.
These changes in the schemes from the next financial cycle (2026-27 to 2030-31) onwards are being proposed by the respective ministries to the Expenditure Finance Committee, which is expected to review and decide on them in time for the next cycle to begin. The proposals for changes to these schemes were revealed by the government in their interactions with the departmentally related standing committee on social justice and empowerment.
This committee had last year recommended that the income ceiling eligibility criteria for several scholarship schemes should be increased and had also called for the number of slots under these schemes to be raised. On Wednesday, in reports on the Demand for Grants tabled by this committee for both the Social Justice and Tribal Affairs Ministries, it noted the replies submitted by the government on proposals for changes to scholarship, coaching, and hostel schemes.
Lack of coherence
The committee went on to express concerns that the Social Justice Ministry’s expenditure is not meeting the Budget Estimates that are being planned at the beginning of the fiscal year. It also noted that a significant amount of funds for the SC, Backward Classes, and Social Defence divisions were surrendered by the Ministry in the 2024-25 fiscal year. However, the panel concluded that it felt the underutilisation of funds was because of “lack of coherence between the Central and State Governments”.
In its submissions to the House panel, recorded by the committee in the reports tabled on Wednesday, the government said that under the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme for OBCs, EBCs, and DNTs, yearly scholarship amounts are being proposed to be raised for degree and post-graduate levels (From ₹20,000 to ₹25,000), professional courses leading to degrees, diplomas, and certificates (from ₹13,000 to ₹15,000), and for Class XI and XII levels (from ₹5,000 to ₹7,000).
In addition, under this scheme, an additional amount of ₹2,000 per annum will be for technical and vocational courses being pursued at the Class XI and XII levels.
Further, under the free coaching scheme for SCs and OBCs, the government is proposing to increase the number of slots from 3,500 to 7,000. Of these new total slots, the department is planning to keep 3,000 slots for Central universities and 2,000 for State universities. In addition, there are plans to introduce a “student-centric mode”, under which students can choose to study at coaching centres of their choice, for which the remaining 2,000 slots will be reserved.
In its report on the Demand for Grants for Social Justice Ministry, the House panel noted that the NAMASTE scheme for addressing deaths due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks needs more allocations, further expressing “shock” that despite over three decades 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 among proposals sent to the EFC for the next cycle, the government also intends to increase the relief amounts that are paid to victims and their families under this law and raise funds sent to States for setting up special police stations.
Published – March 11, 2026 10:51 pm IST
