Education Budget 2024: SC, OBC minority scholarship funds cut; tribal fellowships get increased allocations

NEW DELHI: Amongst all students’ scholarships, the interim budget 2024 presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced the highest increase in allocation – 20% – for the post-matric scholarship scheme for tribal students. While most scholarship schemes under the tribal affairs ministry witnessed slight increase in outlay, the budget 2024 allocations to those under the ministry of social justice and empowerment were decreased by nearly Rs 9 crore.

However, Tribal Research Institutes saw a slight cut of Rs 7.64 crore, with Rs 111 crore earmarked for the 2024-25 financial year.

Scholarships for minorities saw the maximum cuts across different schemes. At Rs 326.16 crore, pre-matric scholarship for minorities saw a drop in allocation by 23%. Similarly, the education scheme for madrasas and minorities received just Rs 2 crore as against the current financial year’s Rs 10 crore, a nearly 80% cut.

However, the post-matric scholarship scheme, under the ministry of minority affairs, received a slight increase of Rs 80 crore in allocation – with Rs 1,145.38 crore allocated in FY 2024-25.

Under the ministry of social justice and empowerment, post-matric scholarship for SCs has been earmarked Rs 6,349.98 crore, a slight decrease of Rs 9.16 crore.

In her budget speech, Sitharaman said that the central government is working with an approach of “all-round, all-pervasive and all-inclusive development”.

“Previously, social justice was mostly a political slogan. For our government, social justice is an effective and necessary governance model. The saturation approach of covering all eligible people is the true and comprehensive achievement of social justice. This is secularism in action… reduces corruption, and prevents nepotism. There is transparency and assurance that benefits are delivered to all eligible people. The resources are distributed fairly. All, regardless of their social standing, get access to opportunities. …We focus on outcomes and not on outlays so that the socio-economic transformation is achieved,” she said.

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Education Budget 2024: Scholarships to OBCs, SCs, STs

Pre-matric scholarship, amongst other scholarships saw a decrease in allocation of Rs 921 crore from financial year 2023-24.

Other student scholarships saw a slight increase in allocations, pre matric scholarship for Other Backward Communities (OBCs), Economically Backward Communities (EBCs) and Denotified Tribes (DNTs) and National fellowship for OBCs saw slight cuts, with Rs 210 crore and Rs 55 crore allocated respectively.

Interim Budget 2024: Scholarship for SC, OBC (In Rs crore)

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Budget 2024: Scholarships to tribal students

Except for Tribal Research Institutes, the allocation to tribal students’ schemes has seen an increase up to 50% in the interim budget 2024. At Rs 111 crore, the 2024-25 budget estimate for Tribal Research Institutes saw a decrease of 6.4%.

Education Budget 2024: Scholarship, fellowships schemes for tribal students (in Rs Cr)

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Education Budget 2024: Scholarship for minorities

While other scholarships under the minority affairs ministry saw marginal cuts in allocation, at Rs 1,145.38 crore, the post-matric scholarship for minorities witnessed a slight increase. The pre-matric scholarship saw a 24% cut with Rs 326.16 crore allocated in interim budget 2024. Last year, Rs 433 crore was earmarked in FY 2023-24. The pre-matric scholarship for minorities had seen massive cuts in the current financial year after the eligibility criteria was revised to exclude children in classes below Class 9.

Further, merit-cum-means scholarship for professional and technical courses has also seen a cut with Rs 33.80 crore allocated in interim budget 2024. The scholarship was allocated Rs 44 crore in the current financial year. However, the highest cut was witnessed by the scheme for madrasas and minorities with only Rs 2 crore allocated in Interim Budget 2024-25. The scheme has also seen massive cuts over the last two years with the highest allocation of Rs 174 crore earmarked in FY 2021-22.

Interim Budget 2024: Scholarship for minorities

Budget 2024: Anganwadi, POSHAN 2.0

The allocation to Saksham Anganwadi, earlier named Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and POSHAN 2.0 has seen a slight increase in allocation of Rs 21,200 crore – a 3.14% hike in FY 2024-25.

The scheme comes under the purview of the ministry of women and child development. At Rs 21,523.13 crore, the revised estimates saw an increase of Rs 968.7 crore from the budget earmarked in FY 2023-24.

Budget 2024: ICDS umbrella scheme including anganwadi, POSHAN 2.0 (2019-2024, In Rs Cr)

However, what was presented on February 1 was an interim budget as the general elections will be held this year. The full-fledged budget will be presented by the new government after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.