Published Aug 20, 2025 | 3:05 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 20, 2025 | 4:28 PM
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Synopsis: States like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have seen sporadic uptake, while northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya report zero beneficiaries in recent years.
In the ongoing monsoon session, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Parliament about the progress in the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme, aimed at empowering students from marginalised communities to pursue higher education abroad.
Responding to questions in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 19 August, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale highlighted a steady increase in beneficiaries and funding, while also calling for expansion in the annual quota. The scheme has seen increase in its fund from ₹30 crore (2020-21) to ₹95 crore (2024-25) – a staggering 216.67% boost.
The NOS scheme, administered by the ministry, provides financial assistance to low-income meritorious students from Scheduled Castes (SCs), De-notified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers, and Traditional Artisans for master’s or PhD programs overseas.
Over the last seven years, a total of 546 students have benefited, with 511 from SCs, 20 from de-notified tribes, and 15 from landless labourers and artisans. The numbers have grown markedly: from 45 beneficiaries in 2018-19 to 114 in 2023-24, before dipping slightly to 79 in 2024-25 due to the ongoing process.
However, there’s more to this than what meets the eye.
The scheme suffers from large regional disparities. State-wise data reveals Maharashtra dominating with 179 beneficiaries since 2019, while Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, and Meghalaya have seen zero uptake in recent years. Meanwhile, southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have seen sporadic rise in admissions.
On the other hand, northeastern and smaller states are virtually invisible in the beneficiary lists, raising questions about outreach and equity. The government’s awareness efforts—limited to newspaper advertisements and letters to state social welfare secretaries—seem tokenistic at best.
For year 2024-25, the ministry received around 440 applications, but only 106 candidates could make the cut. 64 of these were placed on a non-selected list and a whopping 270 outright rejected. This astonishing rejection rate—over 60%—highlights how the scheme, meant to empower the oppressed, is now perpetuating exclusion.
Besides, funding woes plague the scheme. Despite the allocation hike, the ministry has cited “lack of funds” as reason for withholding scholarships.
These details came in response to questions from MPs Dr D Ravi Kumar and Daggumalla Prasada Rao.
Ravi Kumar inquired about year-wise beneficiaries, state trends, and the possibility of raising the annual quota from 125 to at least 1,000, citing high demand in states with several meritorious students.
Athawale said that the quota was increased from 100 to 125 in 2021-22, with 115 slots for SCs (including 6 for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups), but did not commit to further expansion. He stressed that the applications are invited centrally online, not state-wise, and some states operate their own overseas scholarships.
Prasada Rao sought details on applicants, funds disbursed, award letters, awareness efforts, and grievance mechanisms. The minister clarified that NOS is a central sector scheme without state-specific allocations, and district-wise data is not maintained.
Over the last five years, 725 provisional award letters were issued, leading to 460 students proceeding abroad. Funds are released to Indian Missions abroad via Letters of Authorisation for tuition and allowances.
This follows a similar Lok Sabha query on 5 August, where concerns about NOS implementation were raised by Opposition MPs S Venkatesan and Rahul Gandhi.
Earlier, on 29 July, the Union government announced that all 106 selected candidates for 2025-26 had received provisional letters.
The ministry’s guidelines for 2025-26, effective from 1 April, prioritise candidates with at least 60 percent marks and family income below ₹8 lakh, reserving 30 percent slots for women.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
