Overseas scholarship slots for SCs to double to 250 from 2026–27; panel flags funding crunch

Centre plans to double overseas scholarship slots for SC students and raise ST quota from 2026–27; panel questions funding and utilisation

Published on: Mar 13, 2026, 19:02:15 IST

By Sanjay Maurya, New Delhi

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Slots under the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) students will double from 125 to 250 from 2026–27, while those for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students will increase from 20 to 50, the Union ministries of social justice and empowerment and tribal affairs informed the Parliamentary standing committee.

SC overseas scholarship slots to rise to 250 and ST quota to 50 from 2026–27; parliamentary panel questions funding for expanded NOS scheme. (Representative photo)

However, the 31-member committee on social justice and empowerment, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker P. C. Mohan, raised concerns over the funding and utilisation of the amount allocated to the NOS scheme in its demands for grants report for the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).

Under the NOS scheme, meritorious SC and ST students receive government grants to pursue higher education in the top 1,000 ranked universities abroad.

The MoTA spent ₹21.95 crore on 68 ST students under the NOS scheme between 2021–22 and 2024–25. The scheme has been allocated ₹20 crore for Financial Year (FY) 2026–27.

The panel, however, expressed dissatisfaction that only ₹8,757.04 crore of the revised estimate of ₹10,824.18 crore for 2025–26 had been utilised by February 23, 2026 — roughly 19% less than the allocation for MoTA. The committee also noted that the ministry has been allocated ₹15,421.97 crore for 2026–27 against a proposed demand of ₹17,223.47 crore — about 10.5% less than sought.

According to the committee report tabled on Wednesday, the annual maintenance allowance for ST students will increase from $15,400 to $19,250 in the upcoming Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) cycle for 2026–27 to 2030–31.

The MoTA also informed the panel that it will consider raising the family income ceiling for ST students from ₹6 lakh to ₹8 lakh, bringing it in line with the eligibility criteria for SC students.

However, the committee flagged funding concerns in the NOS scheme for SC students. The budget estimate for the NOS scheme for SC students in 2026–27 is ₹125 crore, down from ₹130 crore in 2025–26, despite the proposal to double the number of slots. “The Committee is unable to understand how the Department will provide scholarships for 250 slots within the budget meant for 125 slots,” the report said. Currently, SC students receive $15,400 per year as a maintenance allowance for studies in the US and other countries, and £9,900 in the United Kingdom.

The panel also pointed out issues with the Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) scheme for SC students, implemented by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under MoSJE through states and Union Territories.

The number of beneficiaries fell to 36.07 lakh in 2025–26 against a target of 76.55 lakh — an achievement of less than 50%. The scheme covered 47.38 lakh students in 2023–24 and 48.04 lakh in 2024–25.

The ministry has proposed raising the family income ceiling from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4.5 lakh in the next Finance Commission cycle starting in 2026–27. It has also suggested doubling the number of slots from 3,500 to 7,000 and increasing the monthly stipend from ₹4,000 to ₹8,000.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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