The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha that scholarship support for Scheduled Caste students is being delivered through the Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) Scheme and the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others. The ministry said both schemes are meant to reduce financial barriers and support educational inclusion for Scheduled Caste students at different stages of schooling.
The current relevance lies in the way the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has combined welfare expansion with technology-enabled delivery. The government has revised both schemes in recent years and has shifted scholarship payment to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries.
Background and earlier position
The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme and the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others are centrally sponsored scholarship schemes. Their policy purpose is to support Scheduled Caste students and improve retention in education by easing direct costs of study.
The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha that the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme was revised during 2020-21, while the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others was revised in 2021-22.
What changed now
Related current affairs
- Government strengthens post-matric scholarship support for Scheduled Caste students; DBT disbursal into Aadhaar-seeded accounts
- Government enhances SC and OBC scholarship delivery via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
- Lok Sabha reply: 13,550 Scheduled Caste students in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapura benefited from central scholarship schemes
- Central Government expands access to higher education for SC students via Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme
- ₹1,178.20 crore central share released to Karnataka under Post-Matric Scholarship for SC students (2023-24 to 2025-26)
- Clarification on scholarship status and unpaid dues for SC, OBC and PwD; DBT mechanism explained