
Research fellows from Other Backward Class (OBC) communities have not received their scholarship payments under the National Scholarship for OBCs scheme since June 2024, the Social Justice Ministry told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
With regards to this, Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar said that this was because the University Grants Commission (UGC) had, in October 2023, hiked the fellowship amounts for Junior and Senior Research Fellows (JRFs and SRFs) under the scheme, indicating that the ministry did not have the budget to cover the increase.
Kumar’s statement came in response to a query by Kozhikode Member of Parliament (MP) MK Raghavan of the Indian National Congress (INC).
The ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to increase the outlay for the scheme, he said, as stated in a report by The Hindu. Budget documents show that the government was unable to find additional funds for the scheme in the revised estimates for 2024-25 but has increased allocation for the upcoming fiscal year, more than tripling the scheme’s funds.
Further, the minister also claimed that the number of beneficiaries had risen from 1,338 to 2,271, though his statement failed to mention the period of this growth. The ministry documents show that the scheme already had more than 2,000 beneficiaries in 2023-24.
The scheme is open to students from OBC communities who are pursuing MPhil (Master of Philosophy) or PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) courses in universities, research institutions, and scientific institutions for up to five years.
Hiked fellowships
Further, the minister also said they the monthly fellowship amount for JRFs (Junior Research Fellowships) had been hiked from Rs 31,000 to Rs 37,000, while the amount SRFs (Senior Research Fellowships) got each month was increased from Rs 35,000 to Rs 42,000.
He added that the number of beneficiaries under the scheme had also increased from 1,338 to 2,271. Because of the rise in amounts of fellowships and the number of beneficiaries, the ministry was only able to disburse fellowships worth Rs 54.50 crore until June 2024, he said.
Budget documents showed that the 2024-25 Budget allocated Rs 55 crore for this scheme, with no change in the revised estimates. For the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26, however, the allocation has been raised to Rs 190.13 crore, a whopping 245% increase.