The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has outlined the implementation status of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste (SC) students. The details were shared by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme is implemented through State Governments and Union Territory administrations. Scholarships are transferred directly into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of eligible students. Release of the Centre’s share depends on States and UTs uploading their paid data on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). The scheme is open-ended and demand-driven for all recognised institutions across India.
States and UTs handle application processes, verification and other implementation procedures through designated online portals.
The functioning of scholarship portals and DBT systems was reviewed by the Committee of Secretaries in 2016 and 2023. Following its recommendations, Aadhaar-based verification and other measures were introduced on the NSP to strengthen transparency and prevent duplication.
Key features on the portal include:
* One-Time Registration (OTR): Biometric-based registration to track scholarship disbursements across the academic lifecycle.
* Global de-duplication: Identifies duplicate applications across schemes.
* Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB)–based disbursement: Ensures accurate and fraud-free payments.
Under revised guidelines, the full scholarship amount—including State and Central shares, academic allowance and disability allowance—is paid directly to students via DBT, preferably through an Aadhaar-based system.
The Centre shared data on beneficiaries and funds released between FY 2020-21 and FY 2024-25 across all States and UTs. Major recipients included Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. In FY 2024-25 alone, 48,04,208 beneficiaries received support, with the Centre releasing ₹5,562.24 crore.
