The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment disclosed that 580 Scheduled Caste students have been awarded scholarships and enrolled abroad under the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme from 2019-20 to 2025-26 (up to August 6, 2026). The yearly distribution shows 41 scholarships in 2019-20, 71 in 2020-21, 98 in 2021-22, 98 in 2022-23, 114 in 2023-24, 80 in 2024-25, and 78 in 2025-26.
To enhance scheme awareness, the Ministry maintains updated guidelines on its departmental website, publishes newspaper advertisements, and coordinates with State Social Welfare Departments for widespread publicity. The application process has been digitized through an online portal and recently integrated into the unified SAMAVESH (Single Access Mechanism for All Verticals of Empowerment & Social Harmony) Portal to streamline processing, scrutiny, and selection.
Fund disbursement occurs through advance releases via Letters of Authorization to Indian Missions/Embassies, directing them to expedite payments to universities and students upon claim receipt. Andhra Pradesh accounted for 18 beneficiaries during this period, with 4 in 2020-21, 3 in 2023-24, 3 in 2024-25, and 5 in 2025-26. District-wise data shows participation from Chittoor, Annamayya, Bapatla, Krishna, Palnadu, Prakasam, Visakhapatnam, and Y.S.R. Kadapa districts.