The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), has scrapped the mandatory domicile certificate requirement for students applying under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This reform will ease access for nearly 12 million students who receive benefits annually under the two schemes.
A domicile certificate — an official document issued by a state government certifying permanent residency — has until now been a mandatory submission under both schemes. For students studying outside their home states, obtaining one mid-year has meant travel back home, lost wages for parents, and in some cases payments to touts to expedite the process.
As many has 5.8 million SC students and 14.7 million OBC students are enrolled in Indian universities based on MoE’s 14.2% and 35.8% share of the 41.3 million total enrolment figure. National Sample Survey and Census migration data suggest approximately 30-35% of students in higher education study outside their home district.
“The removal of the requirement is aimed at reducing the documentation burden, lowering compliance costs, and enabling smoother access to scholarship benefits for eligible students,” senior Ministry officials said.
The two schemes cover a wide base of beneficiaries across income brackets. The Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC students covers those in Classes IX and X with parental income up to ₹2.5 lakh per annum, while the Post-Matric Scholarship extends to higher education up to the doctoral level. For OBC students, separate Pre-Matric and Post-Matric schemes operate with income ceilings of ₹2.5 lakh and ₹1 lakh per annum respectively, covering courses from senior secondary and ITI programmes to postgraduate and professional degrees. In FY26, over ₹7,981 crore was disbursed to more than 7.5 million SC beneficiaries alone under these programmes, making them among the largest direct-benefit education schemes in the country.
{{/usCountry}}The two schemes cover a wide base of beneficiaries across income brackets. The Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC students covers those in Classes IX and X with parental income up to ₹2.5 lakh per annum, while the Post-Matric Scholarship extends to higher education up to the doctoral level. For OBC students, separate Pre-Matric and Post-Matric schemes operate with income ceilings of ₹2.5 lakh and ₹1 lakh per annum respectively, covering courses from senior secondary and ITI programmes to postgraduate and professional degrees. In FY26, over ₹7,981 crore was disbursed to more than 7.5 million SC beneficiaries alone under these programmes, making them among the largest direct-benefit education schemes in the country.
{{/usCountry}}Alongside the documentation reform, the Department has launched SETU — Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment — on the UMANG platform as a single-window digital solution for all scholarship-related services. The platform provides a unified interface for students, Institutional Nodal Officers, District Nodal Officers, and state officials to register applications, track status, and carry out validation processes, consolidating functions previously spread across separate channels. State education departments have begun directing schools to ensure awareness. Punjab’s School Education Department issued formal directions to District Education Officers instructing maximum outreach among students and parents.
“These initiatives are aligned with the government’s broader objective of promoting inclusion, reducing procedural barriers, and ensuring effective delivery of welfare schemes,” the Ministry said.
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