Question : Scholarship Schemes

(a) the number of beneficiaries of the scholarship schemes being implemented by the Government for students belonging to the minority communities in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise and scheme-wise;

(b) whether there is a gap between funds sought by the States/UTs and released by the Union Government under the said schemes during the said period and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise and scheme-wise and the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the cases of irregularities/corruption/diversion of funds under the said schemes have come to the notice of the Government during the said period;

(d) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise and scheme-wise and the reasons therefor along with the remedial measures taken/being taken by the Government in such cases so far; and

(e) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government for effective implementation of the said schemes in the country?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
(SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

(a) : The number of beneficiaries of three scholarship schemes namely Pre-matric, Post-matric and Merit-cum Means based Scholarship Schemes implemented by this Ministry for students belonging to the minority communities in the country during each of the last three years and the current year is at Annexure-I.

(b) : In these schemes, the physical target of scholarships is fixed for each State/UT in the beginning of the year and based on the target different scholarships are disbursed to the eligible students.

(c)& (d) : No Madam.

(e): From 2015-16, all the three Scholarship Schemes are being implemented through National Scholarship Portal (NSP). To explain/elaborate the benefits of the portal and effective implementation of the schemes, Ministry has organized workshops at Guwahati, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, which were attended by the Nodal Officers / Technical Officers of various States dealing with the Schemes. Apart from this, officers of the Ministry visit various States from time to time and conduct meetings with all stakeholders including students to discuss issues related to NSP. Ministry has also taken initiatives to give wide publicity of the Schemes through print advertisements and broadcast/telecast of audio/video spots through All India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan, private TV Channels, FM Channels, Digital Cinema, and various means of outdoor publicity, to make the target group aware of the Schemes.

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