NOS Scheme Cap: Parliamentary Panel Flagged Inefficient Use of Funds in March

The Wire

11-07-2025

New Delhi: While the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has issued provisional scholarship awards to less than half of those selected for its National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) for the academic year, 2025-26, citing 'availability of funds', a parliamentary standing committee report had flagged non-utilisation of funds by scholarship schemes run by the ministry in March this year.
The report also noted that the annual scholarship granted to students is "not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure". The report said that the income eligibility criteria fixed for scholarships 'deprives many meritorious candidates' and that despite the large amount of budgetary allocation spent on scholarship schemes "year after year, the scholarship amount released to the eligible students spills over to the next academic year'.
Non-utilisation of funds
Earlier this week, The Hindu reported that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment declared the results for the 2025-26 cycle of the National Overseas Scholarship, saying that 106 students had been selected for the 125 annual slots available. But it added that only the first 40 candidates will be given provisional award letters, and the rest will get the letter 'subject to availability of funds'.
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi-led Union government and said that when 'Dalit, backward, or tribal student wants to study, that's when the Modi government suddenly remembers its budget.'
However, according to the departmentally-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment's Fifth Report on 'Demands for Grants for the year 2025-26' headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP P.C. Mohan that was tabled in parliament on March 17, several issues had been flagged relating to scholarship schemes including non-utilisation of funds.
In the report, the committee noted that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, which implements the umbrella scheme SHREYAS (Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers), was not able to 'utilise budgetary allocation fully on any of the four sub-schemes' under it.
The SHREYAS scheme includes: National fellowship for SCs, National Overseas Scholarship for SCs, Top Class Education for SCs and Free Coaching for SCs and OBCs.
Also read: Less Than 40% of Selected SC, ST and Poor Students To Get Scholarship, Modi Govt Says No Money: Report
The report states that according to the information provided by the ministry to the committee, in the financial year 2024-25, while the budgetary estimate and revised estimate for the SHREYAS scheme was Rs 428 crores, only Rs 239.32 cr or 55.91% was the actual expenditure on the scheme.
A breakdown of the four sub schemes shows that the Actual Expenditure on the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities was 65.17% of the budgetary allocation, that of the Free Coaching for SCs and Other Backward Caste (OBC) communities was 64%, Top Class Education for SCs was 33.12%, National Overseas Scholarship for SCs was 58.4%.
Budgetary allocation from the report.
'The Committee find that proposals to the tune of Rs 70.46 crore are pending for approval with the Department as late as February, 2025 and proposals to the tune of Rs 93.00 crore under various sub-schemes are expected by 31 March, 2025,' the report said.
'The Committee, therefore, recommend that Department should issue instructions to the Institutions/Organisations to submit the complete proposals within the given time frame to avoid any delay in future. With regard to the proposals of 2024-25 pending with the Department for approval and also the proposals expected by 31 March 2025, the Department may take necessary action for early approval so that funds allocated under this Scheme is utilised fully in this Financial Year. The Committee would like to be apprised in this regard.'
Scholarship not sufficient to meet expenditure
The committee noted that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment spent Rs 6,410.09 crore and Rs 7,830.26 crore on various scholarships and other educational schemes in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. In the year 2024-25, the department spent Rs 3,403.51 crore on Educational Scholarship Schemes till February 2025. However, it said that the annual scholarship granted to students is "not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure" required to get quality education.
'The Committee believe that for the success of any educational scheme, other factors are also significant such as cost of education, availability of good Government Schools/Colleges and teaching staff for its effective implementation. The Committee are of the opinion that the annual scholarship granted to a student for pursuing education is not sufficient to meet the present-day expenditure required to get proper and quality education,' the report said.
The committee report recommended that the annual scholarship amount be 'periodically reviewed to contain the inflation so that the Scheme is more fruitful.'
'The Committee would, therefore, like the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment to review the annual scholarship amount granted to each student pursuing various courses along with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to achieve the envisaged objectives of the various scholarship schemes of the Department. The Committee would like to recommend that the quantum of Scholarship granted to a student under each Scheme should be periodically reviewed to contain the inflation so that the Scheme is more fruitful,' the report said.
Income eligibility depriving meritorious students
The committee also noted that during the period 2022-23 to 2024-25, out of the 1,881 applications received for National Overseas Scholarship, 629 were complete and 325 candidates were selected for the scholarship. It said that the total number of slots fixed (125) under the scheme needs to be increased and that the income eligibility criteria 'deprives' meritorious students from availing its benefits.
'Keeping into consideration the number of aspiring candidates for National Overseas Scholarship, the Committee feels that there is a urgent need to increase the number of 125 slots fixed under the Scholarship Scheme each year,' the report said.
'The Committee are of the strong opinion that the income eligibility criteria fixed for the Scholarship Schemes deprives many meritorious candidates from availing the benefits of the Scheme. The Committee, therefore, desire that the income fixed for making candidate eligible for scholarship needs to be reviewed so that more candidates are covered under the Scheme,' it added.
In addition, the committee noted that while a large amount of budgetary allocation is spent on scholarship schemes, "year after year the scholarship amount released to the eligible students spills over to the next academic year as the applications from State Governments are received up to the months of February and March."
"The Committee are of the view that [the] current system is required to be reviewed as the students should get scholarship within the same academic year so that the education of the student is not disrupted for want of money," the report said.
"The Committee would like the Department to give all the handholding support to the state governments to start the process early so that the requisite formalities are completed in time. The Committee expect that the Department should make all out efforts to sensitise the State Governments and Other Implementing Agencies on this aspect and get the issue of last-minute spending resolved," the committee said.