Modi govt withholds scholarships for majority of SC, ST, poor students, cites fund shortage
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued scholarship award letters to less than 40% of the selected candidates under the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for the academic year 2025–26, citing lack of funds. According to The Wire, only 40 out of 106 selected candidates have received provisional scholarship letters, while the remaining 66 are told their awards “may be issued… subject to availability of funds.”
The ministry said it has not yet received clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In previous years, all selected candidates received their scholarship letters at once, but this year, the ministry is sending letters in phases, reportedly due to funding uncertainty.
The NOS programme, instituted in 1954–55, offers financial support to students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Denotified Nomadic Tribes (DNT), semi-nomadic tribes, landless agricultural labourers, and traditional artisan families, with an annual income below ₹8 lakh.
An official from the ministry told Hindustan Times that the funds are available, but final disbursal requires approval from the cabinet panel. “We have the money, but we also need the green signal from above to give it out,” the official said.
Repeated Scholarship Disruptions
The Wire reports that this is not an isolated incident. Over 1,400 PhD scholars under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) scheme have faced delayed stipends since January 2025. In some cases, payments have not been made since late 2024. The MANF supports researchers from six notified minority communities—Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi.
Delays and confusion have also plagued the National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes. The National Testing Agency initially released a list of 865 selected candidates in March 2025. However, in April, a revised list cut the number to 805 and removed 487 names that were previously included.
Rahul Gandhi Writes to PM
On June 10, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Modi highlighting the poor conditions of hostels and irregularities in scholarship disbursements. He pointed out that students from Dalit, Adivasi, EBC, OBC, and minority communities have been disproportionately affected.
He cited the example of Bihar, where the state scholarship portal remained inactive for three consecutive years, leading to zero disbursals for the 2021–22 academic year. Gandhi also noted that the number of Dalit students receiving scholarships had nearly halved—from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 69,000 in FY24—and described the current scholarship amounts as “insultingly low.”
With multiple schemes now in disarray, students from historically disadvantaged communities are left facing uncertainty over their academic futures.
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Barber held for beating man to death over 'bidi' in east Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): A 32-year-old barber was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly beating a man to death following an altercation over a 'bidi' in east Delhi's Pandav Nagar area, police said.
A call regarding the incident that occurred near the bus stand road in Shashi Garden was received at 1.24 am, they said.
The victim was identified as Deepak (28), while the accused was Manoj, he added.
According to the police, during an argument, the accused picked up a wooden stick lying nearby and struck the victim repeatedly on the head. Multiple injuries and bruise marks were also found on the victim's forehead.
"Deepak was taken to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead," an officer said.
An FIR has been registered and further investigation is underway, the officer added.
