Over 25.2 mn minority students, 50% girls avail scholarship schemes: Naqvi

As many as 25.2 million minority students, half of them girls, availed three scholarship schemes being offered by the government, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday.

Naqvi said in Lok Sabha that scholarships are being given for the education empowerment of minority students, including girl students all over the country.

All the three scholarship schemes are implemented through the National Scholarship Portal and the disbursement of scholarship is made under the Direct Benefit Transfer mode, which eliminates duplication and leakage, he said during the Question Hour.

Naqvi said so far 25.2 million students belonging to minority communities have availed the scholarships, 50 per cent of whom were girls.

The schemes are Pre-Matric Scholarship for students in class I to X, Post-Matric Scholarship from class XI to PhD and Merit-cum-Means based scholarship for professional and technical courses at undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

The minister said Begum Hazrat Mahal Scholarship Scheme is also implemented online and the scholarship is disbursed under the DBT mode and the process has increased promptness, transparency and efficiency.

Also, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the provision of 700 million scholarships to students from the minority communities under its pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means based schemes till the year 2020.

Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad told a media conference that under the three schemes, the government provided 600 million scholarships to students of this category during 2017-18.

"To meet the next target of 700 million scholarships, the total expenditure is going to be Rs 53.38 billion," he said.

The Minister also said that technology is being used in transferring scholarships directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries to avoid duplication and other problems.