The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment (DoSJE) has implemented significant reforms to streamline scholarship access for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Classes students. In a major policy change, the requirement for submission of Domicile Certificate has been completely dispensed with for applying under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes. This reform is expected to benefit nearly 1.2 crore students who receive scholarship benefits annually under these schemes by reducing documentation requirements, lowering compliance costs, and facilitating easier access to benefits, particularly for students studying in institutions outside their home states.
Additionally, the Department has launched the SETU (Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment) portal on the UMANG platform as a comprehensive digital solution for scholarship-related services. The platform provides a single interface for eligible applicants, Institutional Nodal Officers, District Nodal Officers, and State officials for application registration, tracking, and validation services, thereby improving transparency and operational efficiency in the scholarship distribution process.
These initiatives are aligned with the Government's broader objective of promoting inclusion, reducing procedural barriers, and ensuring effective delivery of welfare schemes through technology-driven reforms that enhance outreach and provide timely support to students across the country.