Expansion of SC/ST scholarships
Context: Ahead of the upcoming financial cycle spanning FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, the Union government is considering revising the parental income limit for eligibility in availing post and pre-matric scholarships administered to students from marginalised castes and tribes.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
What will the new upper limit be?
Eligible applicants for these scholarships must have parents making less than ₹2.5 lakh per year.
- The Social Justice Ministry is thinking about changing the post and pre-matric scholarship limits for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Castes (OBCs), and Denotified Tribes (DNTs).
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs wants to increase the parental income limit for ST scholarships to ₹4.5 lakh. Additionally, talks are underway to increase the parental income threshold for DNT and OBC college and school scholarships.
These scholarships: what are they?
The government administers the post- and pre-matric scholarships for Scheduled Tribes (STs), OBCs, and SCs as centrally supported programs. This indicates that, with the exception of the northeastern states, where the ratio is 90:10, it is funded by the Union and the States in a 60:40 ratio.
In order to qualify for the post-matric scholarships for SCs, STs, and OBCs, a student must be an Indian national enrolled in post-matriculation coursework, or after the tenth grade. kids in grades IX and X are typically eligible for pre-matric scholarships; however, SC kids in grades 1 through X may also be eligible if their parent or guardian works in a “unclean or hazardous” occupation. For students to be eligible for both post-matric and pre-matric scholarships, their parents’ yearly income must be less than ₹2.5 lakh.
What percentage of people use the scholarships?
Available government data, presented to House panels and tabled in Parliament, indicates that fewer people from all socioeconomic backgrounds have been receiving post- and pre-matric scholarship awards. This demonstrated a 30.63% decrease in the number of recipients of pre-matric scholarships for SCs between 2020–21 and 2024–25. According to data presented in Parliament this week, the number of recipients of SC post-matric scholarships fell by 4.22% during the same time period.
Additionally, data from earlier this year revealed that the number of beneficiaries of pre-matric scholarships for OBCs, EBCs, and DNTs decreased from 58.62 lakh in 2021–2022 to little over 20.25 lakh in 2023–2024. Post-matric scholarships for these groups also saw a decline during that time, going from 43.34 lakh beneficiaries to 38.42 lakh. During this period, the number of STs who received pre-matric scholarships decreased by 4.63 lakh, and those who received post-matric scholarships decreased by 3.52 lakh.
What opinions have House panels expressed regarding the eligibility requirements for these scholarships?
Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of OBCs proposed a “suitable rise” in the income cap from the present ₹2.5 lakh for scholarships for OBC students in a report on OBC schemes administered by the Social Justice Ministry. The panel requested a “suitable rise” in the income limitations for recipients of top-tier scholarships for school and college education, but it also asked the government to quadruple the income limit for OBCs who get pre- and post-matric scholarship recipients.
The panel also suggested that the pre-matric scholarship for OBCs be extended to students in Class V and beyond, stating that it was confusing why it was only available until Class IX and X.
These House panels have emphasised the value of these scholarships and noted that many families who require them are unable to obtain them because of the current parental income cap, which they say is excessively low. In order to provide coverage to as many beneficiaries as possible, they have proposed raising the parental income ceiling for these scholarships.