New Delhi, June 19: The central government has simplified the scholarship application process for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) students. Under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the requirement to submit domicile certificates for pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes has been abolished.
This decision reduces the documentation burden on students, making it easier to apply for scholarships than before. It particularly benefits thousands of students studying in educational institutions outside their home states.
According to the government, approximately 12 million students benefit annually from the pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes for SC and OBC categories. The removal of the domicile certificate requirement will make the application process more student-friendly, reduce bureaucratic formalities, and save both time and costs for students.
To strengthen digital governance, the department has also launched the SETU (Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment) platform on the UMANG app. This comprehensive digital platform provides all services related to scholarships.
Through this platform, eligible students, institutional nodal officers, district nodal officers, and state-level officials can register applications, monitor their status, verify documents, and access other services in one place. This will enhance transparency and efficiency throughout the process.
The ministry stated that these initiatives are part of the government’s broader goal to promote inclusive development, reduce unnecessary procedural hurdles, and effectively reach welfare schemes to eligible individuals.
The department reiterated its commitment to reaching more students and providing timely assistance through technology-based reforms. In the financial year 2025-26, over 7.98 billion rupees were distributed to more than 7.5 million beneficiaries from the Scheduled Caste category. There has also been a significant increase in spending on scholarship schemes, with a 21% rise in the pre-matric scholarship scheme, 11.23% in the post-matric scholarship scheme, and 13.5% in the Top Class Education scholarship scheme.
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