Latest news with #NationalOverseasScholarship
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
National Overseas Scholarship Funds Frozen, Selected Candidates Have Offers From Global Varsities, Can't Go
Nagpur: Many bright students, including 29 girls from underprivileged communities — scheduled castes, denotified tribes, landless labourers and minorities — could lose their opportunity to study in premier foreign universities with the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment failing to issue award letters to majority selected candidates under the govt's prestigious National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for 2025–26. The ministry has cited insufficient funds. Though 106 students were officially selected after a rigorous process in the first round, only 40 received provisional award letters. The others — many of whom hold offers from top global universities — are left in the lurch. These 106 students, including 29 girls hail from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. They gained admissions to master's and PhD programmes in universities in Singapore, Australia, USA, and the UK. The scholarship is granted for only QS-ranked institutions like Johns Hopkins, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds, University of Sydney, National University of Singapore. In its July 1 notification, the Union ministry stated that 440 online applications were received while publishing the list of selected candidates. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Uber luxury living at Hyderabad's billionaire junction Sumadhura Group Learn More Undo "Of these, provisional award letters will be issued to candidates from Serial Number 1-40. Provisional award letters to the remaining candidates (41-106) may be issued in due course, subject to availability of funds." However, the notification goes on to state the "candidature of selected candidates is provisional, subject to being found eligible and availability of funds during the 2025-26 fiscal. " Yogesh Taneja, undersecretary in the ministry, told TOI that the five-year budget allocated for NOS was exhausted in the last three years. "We require additional funds, and this will be arranged soon," he said. Taneja mentioned that total allocation of funds for each student varies, as per university's fee, course duration, and country's living expenses. The govt incurs expenses anywhere from Rs40 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore. To a query on why all 106 were not given provisional letters if funds were being arranged and a rider 'subject to availability of funds' put for even selected candidates, Taneja didn't respond. Rajiv Khobragade, president, The Platform for Justice & Human Rights, said, "This is the first time the central govt is short of funds for NOS. Generally, we have to pursue state govts to get scholarship funds released," he said. Though the scheme was allocated ₹130 crore this year — its highest ever — bureaucratic delays, pending clearances, and possible fund diversions have halted implementation, he said. Khobragade, who raised the issue with Union minister Ramdas Athawale, said, "Funds meant for marginalised communities are quietly diverted to other purposes such as tourism or schemes with far less impact, compared to education. How will this country develop if we continue to shift educational funds elsewhere?" In its letter, The Platform has put forward a five-point proposal. It said all selected candidates must be issued award letters even if fund release happens in phases. Formal confirmation will allow students to proceed with visa and admission processes. Temporarily reallocate unused welfare funds to support NOS scholars. Facilitate public sector bank loans with govt undertaking. Place a supplementary demand in the monsoon session of parliament to approve additional education-specific funds. Engage CSR support from PSUs and corporates.
The Wire
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
NOS Scheme Cap: Parliamentary Panel Flagged Inefficient Use of Funds in March
New Delhi: While the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued provisional scholarship awards to less than half of those selected for its National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) for the academic year, 2025-26, citing 'availability of funds', a parliamentary standing committee report had flagged non-utilisation of funds by scholarship schemes run by the ministry in March this year. The report also noted that the annual scholarship granted to students is "not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure". The report said that the income eligibility criteria fixed for scholarships 'deprives many meritorious candidates' and that despite the large amount of budgetary allocation spent on scholarship schemes "year after year, the scholarship amount released to the eligible students spills over to the next academic year'. Non-utilisation of funds Earlier this week, The Hindu reported that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment declared the results for the 2025-26 cycle of the National Overseas Scholarship, saying that 106 students had been selected for the 125 annual slots available. But it added that only the first 40 candidates will be given provisional award letters, and the rest will get the letter 'subject to availability of funds'. Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi-led Union government and said that when 'Dalit, backward, or tribal student wants to study, that's when the Modi government suddenly remembers its budget.' However, according to the departmentally-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment's Fifth Report on 'Demands for Grants for the year 2025-26' headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP P.C. Mohan that was tabled in parliament on March 17, several issues had been flagged relating to scholarship schemes including non-utilisation of funds. In the report, the committee noted that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, which implements the umbrella scheme SHREYAS (Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers), was not able to 'utilise budgetary allocation fully on any of the four sub-schemes' under it. The SHREYAS scheme includes: National fellowship for SCs, National Overseas Scholarship for SCs, Top Class Education for SCs and Free Coaching for SCs and OBCs. Also read: Less Than 40% of Selected SC, ST and Poor Students To Get Scholarship, Modi Govt Says No Money: Report The report states that according to the information provided by the ministry to the committee, in the financial year 2024-25, while the budgetary estimate and revised estimate for the SHREYAS scheme was Rs 428 crores, only Rs 239.32 cr or 55.91% was the actual expenditure on the scheme. A breakdown of the four sub schemes shows that the Actual Expenditure on the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities was 65.17% of the budgetary allocation, that of the Free Coaching for SCs and Other Backward Caste (OBC) communities was 64%, Top Class Education for SCs was 33.12%, National Overseas Scholarship for SCs was 58.4%. Budgetary allocation from the report. 'The Committee find that proposals to the tune of Rs 70.46 crore are pending for approval with the Department as late as February, 2025 and proposals to the tune of Rs 93.00 crore under various sub-schemes are expected by 31 March, 2025,' the report said. 'The Committee, therefore, recommend that Department should issue instructions to the Institutions/Organisations to submit the complete proposals within the given time frame to avoid any delay in future. With regard to the proposals of 2024-25 pending with the Department for approval and also the proposals expected by 31 March 2025, the Department may take necessary action for early approval so that funds allocated under this Scheme is utilised fully in this Financial Year. The Committee would like to be apprised in this regard.' Scholarship not sufficient to meet expenditure The committee noted that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment spent Rs 6,410.09 crore and Rs 7,830.26 crore on various scholarships and other educational schemes in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. In the year 2024-25, the department spent Rs 3,403.51 crore on Educational Scholarship Schemes till February 2025. However, it said that the annual scholarship granted to students is "not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure" required to get quality education. 'The Committee believe that for the success of any educational scheme, other factors are also significant such as cost of education, availability of good Government Schools/Colleges and teaching staff for its effective implementation. The Committee are of the opinion that the annual scholarship granted to a student for pursuing education is not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure required to get proper and quality education,' the report said. The committee report recommended that the annual scholarship amount be 'periodically reviewed to contain the inflation so that the Scheme is more fruitful.' 'The Committee would, therefore, like the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment to review the annual scholarship amount granted to each student pursuing various courses along with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to achieve the envisaged objectives of the various scholarship schemes of the Department. The Committee would like to recommend that the quantum of Scholarship granted to a student under each Scheme should be periodically reviewed to contain the inflation so that the Scheme is more fruitful,' the report said. Income eligibility depriving meritorious students The committee also noted that during the period 2022-23 to 2024-25, out of the 1,881 applications received for National Overseas Scholarship, 629 were complete and 325 candidates were selected for the scholarship. It said that the total number of slots fixed (125) under the scheme needs to be increased and that the income eligibility criteria 'deprives' meritorious students from availing its benefits. 'Keeping into consideration the number of aspiring candidates for National Overseas Scholarship, the Committee feels that there is a urgent need to increase the number of 125 slots fixed under the Scholarship Scheme each year,' the report said. 'The Committee are of the strong opinion that the income eligibility criteria fixed for the Scholarship Schemes deprives many meritorious candidates from availing the benefits of the Scheme. The Committee, therefore, desire that the income fixed for making candidate eligible for scholarship needs to be reviewed so that more candidates are covered under the Scheme,' it added. In addition, the committee noted that while a large amount of budgetary allocation is spent on scholarship schemes, "year after year the scholarship amount released to the eligible students spills over to the next academic year as the applications from State Governments are received up to the months of February and March." "The Committee are of the view that [the] current system is required to be reviewed as the students should get scholarship within the same academic year so that the education of the student is not disrupted for want of money," the report said. "The Committee would like the Department to give all the handholding support to the state governments to start the process early so that the requisite formalities are completed in time. The Committee expect that the Department should make all out efforts to sensitise the State Governments and Other Implementing Agencies on this aspect and get the issue of last-minute spending resolved," the committee said.
Scroll.in
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: Centre denies that India lost Rafale ‘jets', Trump warns BRICS of tariff hikes and more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. It is incorrect to say that multiple Rafale jets of the Indian Air Force were shot down by Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Defence Secretary RK Singh has said. During an interview to CNBC-TV18, Singhrefused to answer a question regarding the losses the Air Force suffered during the initial phase of the four-day conflict. 'You have used the term Rafales in the plural, I can assure you that is absolutely not correct,' Singh told CNBC-TV18. 'Pakistan suffered losses many times over India in both human and material terms and more than 100 terrorists,' said the defence secretary. He reiterated that the government had given the Indian military operational freedom during the conflict. This came following a remark by Captain Shiv Kumar, India's defence attaché to Indonesia, on June 10 that the Indian Air Force had lost fighter jets to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor on May 7 because of the 'constraint given by the political leadership'. Read on. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued provisional scholarship letters to 40 out of 106 selected candidates for the 2025-'26 National Overseas Scholarship, saying that the remaining 66 will receive theirs 'subject to availability of funds'. In previous years, all selected candidates were issued letters at the same time. Although the Union government has funds, they cannot be released without clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said an unidentified official from the ministry. Read on. United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Washington will impose an additional 10% tariffs on countries aligning with the 'anti-American policies' of the BRICS grouping. He did not elaborate on which policies he believed were against the interests of his country. BRICS comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Leaders of the BRICS nations met in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. In January, Trump had warned members of the BRICS against attempts to replace the US dollar as a reserve currency by repeating a 100%-tariff threat that he had made after winning the presidential election in November. Read on. The Preamble to the Constitution cannot be altered just like a person cannot change their parents, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said. He also claimed that no country had changed its Preamble, apart from India during the Emergency. The remarks came nearly 10 days after the vice president said that the addition of the words 'secular' and 'socialist' to the Preamble was a 'sacrilege to the spirit of sanatana'. In June, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh called for a review of the inclusion of the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble. The RSS is the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Read on.
Scroll.in
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Centre withholds overseas scholarship for 66 candidates, says clearance subject to fund availability
The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued provisional scholarship letters to 40 out of 106 selected candidates for the 2025-'26 National Overseas Scholarship, saying that the remaining 66 will receive theirs 'subject to availability of funds'. In previous years, all selected candidates were issued letters at the same time, the Hindustan Times reported. The National Overseas Scholarship, which began in 1954-'55, supports students from Scheduled Castes, Denotified Nomadic Tribes, semi-nomadic tribes, landless agricultural labourers and traditional artisan communities. The scheme funds master's or PhD degrees at the top 500 global universities as per QS rankings, offering up to $16,920, or nearly Rs 14.5 lakh, annually for a maximum duration of three years for master's programmes and four years for PhD programmes. It provides 125 scholarships annually, capped at 10% per state. The applicants must have a family income under Rs 8 lakh per annum. The QS World University Rankings are a ranking of the world's top universities produced by Quacquarelli Symonds and published annually since 2004. In the Union Budget announced in February, the Centre allocated Rs 130 crore to the National Overseas Scholarship for 2025-'26. This was a 36.84% increase from Rs 95 crore in 2024–'25, the newspaper reported. As of December, the ministry had disbursed Rs 56.29 crore to 80 beneficiaries for the academic year 2024-'25. In a notice dated July 1, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said that it received 440 applications for the 2025-'26 academic year between March and April. It shortlisted 106 candidates for the scholarship, placed 64 on a 'non-selected' list and rejected 270 applicants. The 'non-selected' category included students left out due to the 10% cap per state or other quotas. These candidates may still be considered if those initially selected fail to submit the required documents. The scheme has 125 slots, but the allotments depend on the availability of funds. This means that the rejections are not final and students may still receive the scholarship later, as per the Hindustan Times. An unidentified official from the ministry told the newspaper that the Union government has funds but they cannot be released without clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'It is an issue with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs not approving the money allocated to these scholarship schemes,' the official was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. 'We have the money but we also need green signal from above to give it out.' The Maulana Azad National Fellowship, which is open for candidates from Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian communities, has also seen delays, with more than 1,400 PhD scholars not receiving stipends since January 2025, the Hindustan Times reported. There were also discrepancies with the National Fellowship for Scheduled Castes. For the June 2024 cycle, the National Testing Agency first published a selection list of 865 scholars in March 2025. However, it revised the list in April, reducing the selections to 805 and replacing 487 previously chosen candidates with new ones, the newspaper reported.
The Hindu
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Social Justice Ministry seeks additional allocation for overseas scholarship
The Union Social Justice Ministry is in the process of seeking additional allocation for administering the National Overseas Scholarship scheme for marginalised students, officials told The Hindu, days after the ministry withheld provisional award letters to 66 selected candidates 'subject to availability of funds' in the 2025-26 cycle. On July 1, the Ministry declared the results for the 2025-26 cycle of the NOS, saying that 106 students had been selected for the 125 annual slots available. But it added that only the first 40 candidates will be given provisional award letters, and the rest will get the letter 'subject to availability of funds'. The Ministry administers this scholarship for students from Scheduled Caste, Denotified, Semi-Nomadic, and Nomadic Tribes, landless agricultural labourers and traditional artisans, backgrounds, for pursuing postgraduate studies in top universities abroad. This is the first time in at least three years that the 1st round of results for the NOS has seen the selection committee unable to fill all 125 available slots. Further, the applications received for the scholarship also dropped to a low of around three years to about 440. This comes even though the Budget Estimates for 2025-26 showed the scheme receive the highest allocation it has in around five years of ₹130 crore. A senior government official said, 'We are seeking more allocation to administer the scheme. The allocation this year is higher than others. But what must be considered is that the scholarship is paid out through the period of education of the candidates. So, a part of this year's allocation must be used for this as well, that is for candidates selected in previous years and continuing their studies. As a result, the ministry is seeking more allocation and soon this will be worked out.' Notably, the fund-crunch for the National Overseas Scholarship administered by the Social Justice Ministry comes even as the government is in the middle of evaluating the scheme in time for the 16th financial cycle, which will be beginning from Financial Year 2026-27. 'All the issues in administering the scholarship are being considered. The evaluation is currently underway,' the official said. The evaluation is part of the government's procedure to check how the scheme is performing and decide if it should be continued. Earlier this year, the Departmentally-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, had pointed out several issues with the gamut of scholarship schemes administered by the ministry. Among them, the panel had noted that the amounts of scholarships were not enough, the slots for schemes like NOS needed to be increased, and the issue of scholarship disbursals spilling onto the next year, year after year.
