Question : National Fellowship and Scholarship of ST Students

(a) the details of number of schemes currently being run by the Ministry for the tribal students;
(b) the details of funds allocated during the last three years to implement the National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students and National Overseas Scholarship for ST candidates for studying abroad;
(c) the details of grants released, expenditure incurred and the number of ST candidates awarded the Fellowship under National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students for the last three years;
(d) the number and details of ST candidates awarded the scholarship annually for pursuing M.Phil, Ph.D and M.Phil plus Ph.D during the last three years; and
(e) the details of the concrete steps taken by the Government to ensure that the fellowship amount is released to students in time directly into their accounts by DBT mode?

(a) This Ministry implements the following schemes for Scheduled Tribe students in the States/UTs in the country:-

i) Pre-Matric Scholarships for ST students
ii) Post-Matric Scholarships for ST students
iii) National Fellowship & Scholarship for Higher Education for ST students
iv) National Overseas Scholarships for ST students for studying abroad
v) Grants in aid to Voluntary Organizations Working for the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes
vi) Strengthening Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy Districts
vii) Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India
viii) Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)
ix) Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS)
x) Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTGs)








(b) The details of funds allocated under the scheme National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students and National Overseas Scholarship for ST candidates for studying abroad during the last three years are as under:-
(Rs. in lakhs)
National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
BE RE BE RE BE RE
5000.00 8000.00 12000.00 10000.00 10000.00 10000.00
BE: Budget Estimates RE: Revised Estimates
(Rs. in lakhs)
National Overseas Scholarship for ST candidates for studying abroad
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
BE RE BE RE BE RE
100.00 39.00 100.00 100.00 200.00 200.00
BE: Budget Estimates RE: Revised Estimates

(c) The details of fellowship amount released and Scheduled Tribe candidates awarded the Fellowship under “National Fellowship” component of the scheme National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST studentsduring the last three years are as under:-

2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Expenditure
(Rs in Lakhs) Beneficiaries Expenditure
(Rs in Lakhs) Beneficiaries Expenditure
(Rs in Lakhs) Beneficiaries
7312.25 2197 7022.00 2078 8208.91 2456


(d) Under the scheme, the total number of fresh fellowships each year is 750. The selection of award of fellowship is based on merit and there is no State/ University-wise allocation/ ceiling on number of slots under the scheme.

(e) With the efforts made by the Ministry since 2017-18 number of applications has been increased and all the 750 fellowship slots are now filled up. The Ministry has started implementing the scheme directly from the year 2017-18 onwards. For this purpose a dedicated portal has been designed in the Ministry for online applications so as to ensure that fellowship amount is released to students in time directly into their accounts in DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode. Further, the scheme has been integrated with Public Financial Management System (PFMS) and DBT Bharat Portal.

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