What happened (Lok Sabha reply for Chikkaballapura, Karnataka)

In a written Lok Sabha reply, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment reported district-level beneficiary counts for centrally sponsored scholarships targeted at Scheduled Castes (SC) students. The reply stated that Chikkaballapura district recorded benefits under Post-Matric Scholarship and Pre-Matric Scholarship for the Academic Year 2025–26, while SHREYAS—Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers Scheme for Scheduled Castes—reported no district beneficiaries for the same period.

Background and earlier position (which scholarship schemes exist, and how delivery is planned)

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment implements three major Centrally Sponsored Scholarship Schemes for Scheduled Castes students, as stated in the Lok Sabha reply: Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes (PMS-SC), Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes and Others, and SHREYAS—Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers Scheme for Scheduled Castes. The Ministry also described implementation approaches focused on technology-enabled service delivery, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and awareness initiatives to support timely financial assistance and transparency.

What changed now (DBT rollout dates and reported disbursal pattern)

The Ministry reported that it introduced DBT under PMS-SC in 2021–22 and introduced DBT under the Pre-Matric Scholarship scheme in 2022–23. In the same reply, the Ministry associated improved delivery with direct transfers to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts, alongside claimed outcomes such as reduced duplication and delays and improved transparency. For Academic Year 2025–26, the reply’s district-level beneficiary totals reflect participation under Post-Matric and Pre-Matric schemes and the absence of beneficiaries under SHREYAS-SC in Chikkaballapura.

Related current affairs