New Delhi: The central government may consider increasing the number of scholarships given to tribal students wishing to go abroad for higher studies from the present 20 to 50, Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.

The National Overseas Scholarship for Schedule Tribes (ST) students is implemented through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and the funds are released to ST students studying abroad through the MEA by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

"We can increase the number of overseas scholarships given to tribal students from present 20 to 50," Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram said during Question Hour.

When an opposition member questioned why the number of overseas scholarships is so low, Oram hit back, saying the opposition, when in power for a long period, hardly did anything for the welfare of the tribals.

He said it was Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who first created the Tribal Affairs Ministry for the welfare of the tribal communities. PTI ACB