Ministry of Tribal Affairs DBT Portal and Scholarship Disbursement
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey informed Rajya Sabha that the Ministry currently leverages the DBT Tribal Portal to access beneficiary data submitted by respective States/UTs for monitoring and generating MIS reports for pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes implementation. The portal allows States/UTs to upload queries, documents, utilization certificates, and statements of expenditure, which has reduced processing time and minimized grievances.
The Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes are Centrally Sponsored Schemes implemented through respective States/UTs, with scholarship disbursement handled by concerned States/UTs through their own portals or the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). Key progress achievements include end-to-end digitization transitioning from paper-based processing to scheme-specific digital portals, implementation of common data standards for seamless web-service API-based data sharing between States/UTs portals/NSP and the DBT Tribal Portal, faster communication through online upload of Utilization Certificates and Statements of Expenditure, and public transparency through integration with Performance Dashboard, DBT Mission, Prayas Dashboard, and NITI Aayog for outcome tracking.
To eliminate parking of funds at State level, minimize delays in scholarship release, and ensure transparency of fund flow, the Ministry has adopted the SNA SPARSH Model for release of central share under both scholarship schemes. This Just-in-Time Disbursement Framework releases Central Share funds as bills are raised by respective State Governments for scholarship payment. Once bills are approved, both Central Share and State Share funds are directly transferred from RBI account to student beneficiary accounts through DBT.
For Central Sector Schemes implemented directly by the Ministry, a robust digital mechanism is established through National Scholarship Portal (NSP), Ministry's Scholarship Portal, and Public Financial Management System (PFMS) to facilitate Direct Benefit Transfer. The removal of physical application process and manual verification has streamlined approval workflows and reduced overall application processing time.
Beneficiary Data for FY 2023-24 to 2025-26
Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme: The total number of beneficiaries reported across all States/UTs was 635,829 in FY 2023-24, which increased significantly to 952,298 in FY 2024-25, before decreasing to 739,639 in FY 2025-26. Major states included Madhya Pradesh (328,029 beneficiaries in 2025-26), Chhattisgarh (35,372), Odisha (122,800), and Rajasthan (80,125). Several states showed inconsistent reporting patterns with some years showing no data.
Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme: The total beneficiaries were 1,783,768 in FY 2023-24, decreased to 1,659,187 in FY 2024-25, and further to 1,591,200 in FY 2025-26. Major contributors included Madhya Pradesh (304,520 beneficiaries in 2025-26), Odisha (289,738), Gujarat (173,747), Chhattisgarh (128,661), and Andhra Pradesh (93,539). The data shows wide variation in state participation across years, with some states not reporting data in certain years.
The integration of National Scholarship Portal with States/UTs scholarship portals enables data validation and automated deduplication checks across schemes and databases, ensuring that financial benefits reach targeted ST students directly without intermediaries.