Ministry Of Social Justice And Empowerment Strengthens Educational Empowerment Through Scholarships And Digital Reforms
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is strengthening equitable access to education for disadvantaged groups like SCs, OBCs, EBCs, and DNTs through scholarships, residential infrastructure, and digital reforms. Key interventions include the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes, which aim to reduce dropout rates and enhance higher education enrolment. The implementation relies on transparency measures such as DBT-enabled systems, Aadhaar-seeded accounts, e-KYC verification, and integration with databases like DigiLocker and UDISE.
Why It Matters
This press release provides official financial figures and implementation details regarding central scholarship schemes for marginalized communities, which are important factual data points for welfare and governance sections in competitive exams like UPSC and SSC.
In Simple Words
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is helping students from Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Backward Classes, and Nomadic Tribes continue their education. It offers financial support through scholarships, coaching, residential facilities, and overseas assistance to reduce money-related barriers.
The department uses digital tools like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts, biometric authentication, e-KYC, and DigiLocker integration. These technology reforms remove duplicate entries, prevent delays, and make scholarship distribution transparent and accountable.
Key Points
- Target groups include Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), and Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs).
- Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is Shri Sudhansh Pant.
- Central Assistance of Rs 4,893.03 Crore was released under the Pre-Matric Scholarships Scheme from FY 2014-15 to FY 2025-26, benefiting approximately 299.66 lakh beneficiaries.
- During FY 2025-26, Rs 562.36 Crore was released under the Pre-Matric scheme, benefiting 26.79 lakh students.
- Central Assistance amounting to Rs 46,581.54 Crore was released under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students from FY 2014-15 to FY 2025-26, benefiting 612.98 lakh students.
- During FY 2025-26, Rs 6,186.95 crore was released under the Post-Matric scheme, benefiting 47.53 lakh students.
- The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme transitioned to a DBT-enabled framework from FY 2021-22 onwards.
- Digital reforms include integration with DigiLocker, API SETU, AISHE, UDISE, NCVT, SCVT, UIDAI, NPCI, and PFMS.
Exam Angle
A. Rs 46,581.54 Crore
Source: Press Information Bureau