Over 1.44 Crore SC Students Receive Rs 12,773 Crore Scholarship Support Amid Key Administrative Reforms
Distilled Policy Brief
- Key administrative reforms include on-the-spot verification of income and caste certificates for the National Overseas Scholarship from 2024-25, and a mandatory 7-day grievance window for the National Fellowship for SCs from 2025-26.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Key features of the SHRESHTA scheme, National Overseas Scholarship, and National Fellowship for SCs, including their nodal ministry and recent administrative reforms.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Analyze how procedural reforms, such as timeline alignment and direct verification, address systemic bottlenecks in welfare schemes for marginalized communities.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
With reference to the recent administrative reforms introduced by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in its educational scholarship and fellowship schemes, consider the following statements: 1. Under the National Overseas Scholarship scheme, a system for on-the-spot verification of income and caste certificates directly from issuing authorities has been introduced from the academic year 2024-25. 2. Under the National Fellowship for SCs, a mandatory seven-day grievance filing window is introduced from the academic year 2025-26 following the declaration of UGC-NET and Joint CSIR-UGC NET results. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- [A] 1 only
- [B] 2 only
- [C] Both 1 and 2
- [D] Neither 1 nor 2
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
Both statements are correct. To prevent fraudulent claims and streamline the selection process, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment introduced on-the-spot verification of income and caste certificates directly from issuing authorities for the National Overseas Scholarship starting in 2024-25. Additionally, to ensure transparency and timely resolution of discrepancies, a mandatory 7-day grievance filing window was introduced for the National Fellowship for SCs from the academic year 2025-26 following the declaration of UGC-NET and Joint CSIR-UGC NET results.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.