The Ministry deals with the following two Centrally sponsored schemes of scholarship for SC students in various States/UTs including the State of Bihar:

 (i) Post-Matric Scholarship for SC students

(ii) Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC Students

Under the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students, an amount of Rs 47.83 crore was released to State Government of Bihar during the Financial Year 2020-21. State Government has not provided the Utilization Certificate so far.

Under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students, an amount of Rs 55.50 crore was released to the State Government of Bihar during the Financial Year 2019-20. No funds were released during 2020-21. State Government has so far provided the Utilization certificate of Rs 41.97 crore.

The Ministry, based on the funding pattern of the scheme, releases the central share to the State Government/directly to the beneficiary as per the scheme provisions. No funds are released directly to the districts by the Ministry under these schemes.

During the Financial Year 2020-21, no amount was released under Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC students due to deficiencies in the proposal submitted by the State Government.

This information was given by Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar in the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.

*****

MG/RNM