Question : FELLOWSHIPS TO STUDENTS OF DALIT TRIBAL AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

(a) whether the Government provides fellowships to students of dalit, tribal and Muslim communities for higher education such as M.Phil and Ph.D but the beneficiaries are unaware about the process thereof;

(b) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto;

(c) the details of fellowships provided to the students of above communities separately during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme- wise; and

(d) the corrective steps taken by the Government to ensure the benefits of fellowships reach to the targeted people?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (Dr. SHASHI THAROOR)

(a) & (b): No, Madam. A number of students from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Minority categories, being aware of the procedure for grant of UGC fellowships for students of these categories, have applied for, and subsequently availed of, these fellowships as evident from information furnished in part (c). The University Grants Commission (UGC) has been implementing the scheme of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for the benefit of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates since 2005 as entrusted and funded by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) & the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) respectively. Under this Scheme, the UGC provides financial assistance to selected candidates belonging to SC & ST category for pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D research in Universities/Institutions/ Colleges in India.

Apart from the above, the UGC has also been implementing the scheme of Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students since 2009 as entrusted and funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Under this Scheme, the UGC provides financial assistance to selected candidates belonging to minority communities viz. (1) Buddhist, (2) Christian, (3) Muslim, (4) Parsi and (5) Sikh for pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D research in Universities/Institutions/Colleges in India. The UGC has displayed detailed information on the procedure for award of these fellowships on its website www. ugc.ac.in. The UGC also earmarks a share of fellowships, under its other schemes, to students from the SC & ST categories.

(c): Detailed information on the number of students benefited and grants released during the last three years and the current financial year under the schemes of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC candidates, ST candidates and the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students is in Annexure I.

(d): The UGC invites online applications from research scholars for the award of fellowships on merit basis as per the norms laid down it. The UGC has also implemented the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme to ensure fellowship payments directly to the selected candidates.