Parliament Question: National Overseas Scholarship for STs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 3057 TO BE ANSWERED ON- 06/08/2026 “NATIONAL OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIP FOR STs”

3057. SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that the objective of the National Overseas Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe

(ST) candidates is to motivate and support them in pursuing higher education, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government justifies providing only twenty National Overseas Scholarships annually to Scheduled Tribe candidates, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is true that out of the twenty scholarships, three are earmarked for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government justifies fixing the annual family income limit at Rs. 6 lakh for eligibility under the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether there is any proposal to revise the annual family income limit of Rs. 6 lakh and increase the number of scholarships from 20 to 100, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a): Yes Sir, it is true that the objective of the National Overseas Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe

(ST) candidates is to motivate and support them in pursuing higher education. Under the Scheme of National Overseas Scholarship for ST Candidates, a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, scholarships are given to the meritorious Schedule Tribe (ST) students for pursuing higher education in Top 1000 QS Ranked Institutes/Universities situated outside India. Details of the

courses of higher education along with marks and age criteria are given below: -Sl. Course Marks and educational qualification Maximum Age as on 1st No. July of selection year

1. Post-Doctoral 55% marks or equivalent grade in relevant 38 years Research Master's Degree with awarded Ph.D.

2. Ph. D. 55% marks or equivalent grade in 35 years relevant Master's Degree

3. Master 55% marks or equivalent grade in 32 years relevant Bachelor’s Degree Degree The selected candidates are given the cost of tuition, other educational fees charged by the Foreign University, maintenance & other grants along with travel expenses.

(b): Based on the budgetary allocation and the applications received by the eligible ST students in the past, the provision of selection of 20 fresh students in an academic year was laid down in the existing guidelines of the National Overseas Scholarship.

(c): Yes, it is true that out of the twenty scholarships, three are earmarked for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). A copy of the scheme guidelines highlighting the earmarking for PVTGs is given at Annexure-I.

(d): The criteria of annual family income limit upto Rs. 6 lakhs laid down in the existing guidelines of the National Overseas Scholarship justifies the delivery of benefit to the more deserving ST candidate.

(e): The appraisal and approval of the Expenditure Finance Commission for the NOS scheme for its continuation during F.Y. 2026- 27 to 2030-31 is currently ongoing wherein, inter-alia, the proposal to revise the annual family income and increasing the number of slots in the NOS scheme is included for seeking the approval of the Dept. of Expenditure on the draft EFC. The decision regarding enhancing the annual income limit and number of slots under NOS in the said EFC is subject to the approval of the Competent Authority.GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS GUIDELINES CENTRAL-SECTOR SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME OF NATIONAL OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIP FOR ST STUDENTS 2021-22 to 2025-26CONTENTS Sl.No Particulars Page No 1 Introduction 3 2 Salient features of the scheme 3

2.1 Scope 3

2.2 Conditions of eligibility 3 3 Subjects and slots covered under the scheme 5

3.1 Duration of award with financial assistance 5

3.2 Value of scholarship 5 4 Selection procedure 7

4.1 On-Line application through portal 7

4.2 Registration process 7

4.3 Documents required for filling application form 7

4.4 Preparation of merit list 8

4.5 Constitution of expert committee 9 5 Role of Indian Embassy/ Mission abroad 10 6 Other Conditions 10 7 Cancellation of award 11 8 Litigation 11 9 Change in the provisions of the scheme 11 2NATIONAL OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ST STUDENTS

1. INTRODUCTION It is a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs under which scholarships are given to the meritorious Schedule Tribe (ST) students for pursuing higher education in reputed Institutes/Universities abroad. The Scheme will be implemented through the Indian Embassies/Missions abroad, Ministry of External Affairs. The provisions of this scheme guideline will be applicable from 2021-22 and onwards.

2. SALIENT FEATURE OFTHE SCHEME

2.1. SCOPE i. Financial assistance is provided for pursuing post graduate courses (Masters, Ph.

D and Post-Doctoral Research) in reputed universities across the world.

Bachelor level courses in any discipline are not covered under the scheme. ii. 20 awards every year would be sanctioned to ST students as under:

Sl. No. Category No. of Award 1 ST candidates 17 2 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) 03 Total 20 iii. If for any specific year, successful candidates are not available to the extent prescribed for one of the above listed categories, the awards for that year would become open for the other category.

iv. 30% of the scholarship awards are earmarked for female candidates. However, in case, adequate female candidates are not available, the unutilized slots will become open for eligible male candidates.

2.2. CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY

(i). Qualification Sr. No. Course Marks and educational qualification Maximum Age as on 1st July of selection year 1 Post-Doctoral 55% marks or equivalent grade in 38 years Research relevant Master's Degree* with awarded Ph.D.

2 Ph. D 55% marks or equivalent grade in 35 years relevant Master's Degree 3 Master's 55% marks or equivalent grade in 32 years 3Sr. No. Course Marks and educational qualification Maximum Age as on 1st July of selection year Degree relevant Bachelor's Degree.

Note: The criteria of marks obtained in Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree will not apply to those candidates who have already obtained admissions in top 1,000 Institutes as QS World ranking of the latest available report.

(ii). One child in a family and one timeassistance Not more than one child of the same parents will be eligible and the candidate has to furnish a self-certification to this effect. An individual is eligible for only one award and cannot be considered for any other award or same/higher level of award for the second time under the Scheme

(iii). Income Criteria Scholarships will be paid to the students whosefamilyincome from all sources does not exceed Rs.6,00,000/- (Rs. Six lakhs only) per annum.

The family income shall be computed in the following manner: - I. In case where both father and mother are working, the combined income of both of them from all sources shall be taken into account in computing total family income.

II. In case any other member of the family, other than father and mother, is an earning member, his or her income shall not be included in computing total family income.

III. In case only one parent is alive, the income of that parent shall be taken into account for considering total family income. If other sibling or family member is an earning member, their income shall not be included in computing total family income.

IV. In case of an orphan, supported by a guardian, income criteria shall not apply.

Note 1: Definition of Income - Income means gross income including income from all sources without and exemption and deductions available in the Income Tax Act.

Note 2: Income certificate is required to be taken once only i.e. at the time of admission to course which will be valid for the entire duration of the course.

Note 3: The income certificate given at the time of admission should be taken in the same year for which the admission is taken. In case of salaried employee, the income of previous financial year will be considered for the purpose of eligibility. For example, if a candidate applies afresh for academic year 2021-22, the family income for financial year 2020-21 would be required.

43.0. SUBJECTS AND SLOTS COVERED UNDER THE SCHEME The subjects/disciplines in which student can opt for studies abroad and the number of

slots available under each fieldfor grant of award are listed below: - Number of slots for the field of Field of study study Pure/Applied Science/ Engineering/Technology/ Mathematics (STEM) 10 Management, Economics, Finance, Law 04 Agriculture/Medicine 04 Humanities/Social Science/Fine Arts 02

3.1. Duration of award with Financial Assistance:

Financial assistance will be provided till completion of the course/research or the prescribed duration of the course, whichever is earlier: - Sl.No. Course Maximum Duration 1 Post-Doctoral Research 2 years 2 Ph. D 4 years (four years) 3 Master's Degree 1 or 2 years (One/Two years) depending upon the type and duration of the Course.

Note: Extension of stay beyond prescribed duration for levels of courses as mentioned above, will be without financial assistance of any kind except the air passage to return to India, if the candidate decides to come back to India on completion of the course.

3.2. Value of scholarship Sl.No. Scholarship Details Component 1 Annual Maintenance The Annual maintenance allowance in USD15,400 ($ Allowance Fifteen thousand four hundred only) in US/ Pound sterling 9,900 (£ Nine thousand nine hundred only) in United Kingdom for all level courses. For other countries, the USD or equivalent rates would be applicable.

2 Annual Contingency The Annual Contingency and Equipment Allowance for and Equipment books/essentialapparatus/study tour/typing and binding Allowance of thesis etc. will be $ 1532 (US Dollars One thousand five hundred thirty-two only) for the candidates in US and for candidates in United Kingdom, it will be £ 1116 5Sl.No. Scholarship Details Component (Pounds sterling One thousand one hundred sixteen only). For other countries, US Dollar or equivalent rates would be applicable.

3 Poll Tax Actuals shall be paid, wherever applicable 4 Visa Fees Actual visa fees in Indian Rupees will be paid.

5 Incidental Journey Incidental journey expenses up to US Dollars 20 or its Expenses equivalent in Indian Rupees are permissible.

6 Fees Tuition fees and other non-refundable fees which is required to be compulsorily paid by the student for completion of the course, as per actuals.

7 Medical Insurance Actuals as charged will be admissible. The Indian Premium Embassy/Mission in the respective country will however examine the reasonableness of medical premium opted/claimed by the student.

8 Cost of Air Passage Air passage grant on actual basis from India to the nearest place to the educational institution and back to India, by economy class and shortest route at best available price shall be provided.

9 Local Travel Second class railway fare from the port of disembarkation to the place of study and back; in case of far flung places not connected by rail, bus fare from the place of residence to the nearest railway station, actual charge of crossing by ferry, air fare to the nearest rail-cum-air Station will be permissible.

Note 1: - a. In case of unforeseen circumstances like pandemic, natural calamity, war etc., if an NOS awardee comes to India and pursues studies online, the Maintenance Allowance will be provided as per the rate of Junior Research Fellow (JRF) for Master Degree and as per the rate of Senior Research Fellow (SRF) for PhD and Post Doctorate course admissible under the scheme of National Fellowship for ST students during the online study period. The maintenance allowance asperforeign rates may be resumed as and when the awardee joins the universityabroad to continue on-campus studies.

b. In case, any NOS awardee comes to India for field study, as part of Course requirement, he would be required to take permission from the concerned Institute and Indian Embassy justifying that the field study in India is integral to successful completion of the course. The candidate will inform the Ministry by updating the details on the portal. The awardee will be provided Maintenance Allowance as per the rate of JRF for Master Degree and SRF for PhD and Post Doctorate course admissible under the schemeof National Fellowship for ST students of the Ministry 6for the duration of the field study. The maintenance allowance as per foreign rates will be resumed only when the awardee joins his/her university abroad after completing field study in India. In such a situation, the candidate will be entitled for to and fro airfare only once for the entire duration of the course.

c. For the duration of the student’s stay for which the student stays in India, the maintenance allowance payable abroad as per foreign rates will be proportionately reduced.

Note 2: The Students once considered for scholarship shall not be entitled for any other scholarship of the Centre/ State Govt for the same study.

Note 3. The Indian Embassy/Mission located in respective country will disburse the above listed financial assistance to the Institute and the student and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs shall reimburse the same to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Note 4: If the student comes to India in between the course, he will be required to duly inform, the Indian Mission and the institution of study. The awardee will, however, be required to bear to and fro journey expenses for the visit and shall also not be entitled to receive maintenance allowance under the scheme, for the period of being away from the place of his/her educational institution abroad. The maintenance allowance shall be resumed by the Indian Mission only from the date of his/her resuming same course at the same institution.

4.0. SELECTION PROCEDURE

4.1. ON-LINE APPLICATION THROUGH PORTAL The applications for scholarships under the schemewill be invited online through National Overseas Scholarship Portal (NOSP) developed by the Ministry (overseas.tribal.gov.in). The opening and closing of the portal would be announced through an advertisement in Employment News, other prominent News Dailies, through Institutes/Universities, State Governments and through the Ministry’s Portal. Applicants are advised to go through the Instruction Manual before applying online and for any query, may refer to the helpdesk module given on the portal.

4.2. REGISTRATION PROCESS:

Before filling application form online, candidates are required to register themselves on the NOSP and on Digi Locker. Aadhaar is mandatory for registration on portal. The applicant would be required to upload documents through Digi locker.

4.3. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR FILLING DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR FILLING APPLICATION FORM

Applicant will be required to upload the following documents on the portal for registration:  Latest Coloured Passport Size Photograph 7 ST certificate issued by the competent authority  PVTG certificate issued by the competent authority (if applicable)  10th Certificate/Marksheet in support of Date of Birth  Graduation / Post-Graduation mark sheet [Aggregate marks in %] /equivalent % marks in case of CGPA / Ph. D completion certificate, wherever applicable (Conversion sheet of aggregate marks into percentage to be issued by Institute/University)  Offer of admission  Income Certificate The candidates need to ensure that they fulfil all the eligibility criteria at the time of applying for scholarship. If it is found that the candidate does not have the eligibility or the candidate fails to upload the required document which are mandatory to prove their eligibility, the application will be liable to be rejected.

4.4. PREPARATION OF MERIT LIST All applications received within the stipulated period, will be scrutinized for the eligibility criteria. Separate merit list will be drawn for each field of study as mentioned in para 3.3.

above. The eligible applications will be considered for award of scholarship as per the

procedure given below: a. First priority will be given to the candidates who have already got admission and are pursuing their studies in the top 1,000 ranked foreign Institutes/Universities (as per the latest QS world ranking). The merit list will be drawn based on the ranking of the Institute. In case of a tie between the QS rankings of two or more candidates, merit will be decided on the basis of marks/grades secured by the candidate in the qualifying examination for higher studies for which the scholarship has been applied for.

Note: - If selected, the student will be entitled for scholarship prospectively from the date of issuance of award letter. No reimbursement will be made for the fee already paid by the student to the University and the expenses incurred on Insurance etc.

However, the Maintenance and Contingency and Equipment allowance will be given in proportion to number of months for the remaining financial year from the date of issue of Award letter. For subsequent years, the student will be eligible for scholarship covering all fee and other expenses (mentioned in para 3.5) for the remaining duration of the course (as mentioned in para 3.4).

b. In case sufficient number of students are not selected as mentioned in para (a) above, merit list will be drawn from the candidates who have already secured preliminary letter/offer of admission from top 1,000 ranked foreign 8Institutes/Universities (as per the QS world ranking) and are yet to join. Merit list will be drawn in similar manner as mentioned in para ‘a’ above; i.e based on the ranking of the Institute and in case of tie in ranking of university/institution, the marks/grades secured by the candidate in the qualifying examination.

c. In case sufficient students are not selected as per para “a” and “b” above, the vacant slots will be filled from among the remaining eligible candidates through personal interview by a committee of experts constituted by the Ministry. The candidates who have cleared GRE/GMAT/TOFEL etc. will be given preference.

Note: The finally selected candidates will be required to secure admission and join in one of the top 1,000 ranked foreign Institutes/Universities abroad (as per the QS world ranking) within 2 years from the date of communication of Award Letter. On expiry of this specified period of time, the award will automatically get cancelled.

Note: d. In case, the candidates who are selected as per para “b” and “c” do not secure admission and join in one of the top 1,000 ranked foreign Institutes/Universities abroad within 2 years from the date of communication of selection, such unfilled seats will be carried over to the next selection year immediately after the expiry of such time period. For example, if the date of provisional award is 01.09.2019, the candidate is required to get admission latest by 30.9.2021. In case the students fail to take admission within the prescribed time limit, such slots will be carried over to the selection year 2021-22.

e. Verification of the selected candidates as per para “a” above will be done through the Indian Embassy/Mission in the respective country. Verification of the short- listed candidates as per para “b” and “c” will be done through the respective State/UT.

f. The short-listed candidates who are required to appear in Interview before the Expert Committee will be entitled to reimbursement of second-class train fare/bus fare from the place of residence to the place of interview, by shortest route.

g. Provisional merit list of eligible candidates will be posted on the Ministry's website.

4.5. CONSTITUTION OF EXPERT COMMITTEE:

The Ministry will constitute a Selection Committee with domain experts. The Chairperson and members of the committee will be entitled to be paid economy air fare and the rate of hotel accommodation and D.A. would be as admissible to them as per eligibility in their concerned department/University/Institute. Further, honorarium of Rs.2500 a day will be paid to the members. If the members of the Committee are from New Delhi then a sitting fee inclusive of travelling allowance not exceeding Rs. 5000/- a day will be payable, for each day of their participation.

95. ROLE OF INDIAN EMBASSY/MISSION ABROAD Before releasing scholarships to the candidates, the Indian Embassies/Missions abroad shall see the overall performance/ behaviour of the candidate. i. In order to have a better connect with the students and status of their studies the student will submit progress report on the NOS Portal once in every 6 months. The Indian Mission abroad shall obtain performance reports from the university/institution where the awardee is pursuing his/her studies for which the award was given under the scheme and update the information thereon and other relevant information such as joining reports, discontinuation of studies etc., on online portal of the Ministry (https://overseas.tribal.gov.in/) as per the prescribed format.

ii. The Mission shall inform this Ministry any serious adverse developments in case of the awardee which requires decision towards further continuation of the award or otherwise. iii. Before leaving the country, the student will be required to take permission ofIndian Mission and inform the Ministry on the portal.

iv. The Indian Mission will also be responsible for activities as mentioned in para

4.4(e)

6. OTHER CONDITIONS i. Selected candidates shall furnish all such documents and enter into such agreements before their departure as shall be decided by the Government of India from time to time. In case the candidate is already residing abroad, he/she shall furnish all relevant documents and enter into such agreements prior to the release of the scholarship by the Indian Mission.

ii. The candidate shall not change the course of study or research and the Institute for which scholarship has been sanctioned. iii. It will be the responsibility of candidate to obtain the appropriate visa for a country wherein he/she intends to study.

iv. In case the awardee has received overpayment through Indian Mission abroad or any other Government agency, he/she shall refund the same to Indian Mission abroad. v. After completion of the course, the awardee shall upload the course completion details along with brief of study in the Alumni Module of NOS portal of the Ministry before his return tickets are booked.

107. CANCELLATION OF AWARD The award of the scholarship will be cancelled and no financial support will be provided.

Also, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs may recover the already paid award amount in case

of any of the following: i. The awardee has taken admission by submitting false documents or not conforming to the guidelines governing the Scheme; ii. The awardee returning to India without successfully completing the course for which he/she has been selected.

Note: If the failure to complete the course is due to ill-health, he would require to submit certificate of medical officer nominated by the Indian Mission abroad. iii. The student is involved in any illegal activity or antinational activity or misconduct or associated with use of narcotic substances or involved in violation of law of the host country or in the event of any police case against the candidate.

8. LITIGATION Any litigation on matters arising out of this scheme in India will be subject to sole jurisdiction of the courts situated in Union Territory of Delhi. The litigations arising abroad will be attended to by the Indian Missions abroad.

9. CHANGE IN THE PROVISIONS OF THE SCHEME:

The provisions of this Scheme can be changed at any time with the approval of Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. * * * * * * * * * * 11