The Maharashtra government on Tuesday, September 27 doubled the scholarship to Rs 50,000 for students from minority communities who are pursuing higher education.

A decision to this effect was taken by the state cabinet at its meeting in Mumbai, as stated in a report by PTI.

What was the scholarship amount before?

In 2011, the scholarship for students from minority communities pursuing higher education was Rs 25,000.

In 2018, the amount remained the same, but the cap on annual income of parents seeking benefit of the scholarship scheme for their children was increased from Rs 2 lakh to 8 lakh, an official statement said, as per PTI.

The amount has now been raised to Rs 50,000, the statement added. Students from minority communities pursuing education in the fields of arts, science and commerce till Class XII will get a scholarship of Rs 5,000, it said.

The hike in the scholarship of minority community students comes a week after the Eknath Shinde-BJP government commissioned a detailed study to assess the social, financial and educational status of Muslims in 56 cities across six revenue divisions of the state with the help of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

Reports pointed out that the study’s focus was on education, health, employment, standard of living, financial assistance, infrastructure availability and availing of government schemes in order to bring the Muslim community in Maharashtra to the mainstream.