After OBC scholars, now SC scholars flag delay in grants disbursal under national fellowship scheme

Days after the Centre told Parliament that OBC scholars have not received grants under the National Fellowship for OBC Students (NF-OBC) since June last year, hundreds of Scheduled Caste scholars across the country have flagged a delay in receiving the grants due to them under the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students (NFSC).

Many NFSC scholars The Hindu spoke to said that they have not received the monthly grants for a period ranging from two months to five months.

Also read: OBC research scholars in the lurch as govt chokes fund flow

Meanwhile, government officials said the Social Justice Ministry is in talks with the Department of Expenditure to clear the pending grants under NF-OBC for the current fiscal year. According to the Centre, the Ministry has spent ₹54.5 crore out of the allocated ₹55 crore.

One source explained, “The Department of Expenditure has raised some queries with regards to the number of fellows being on-boarded. The Social Justice Ministry is addressing these queries to clear the pending payments for this fiscal. Apart from this, the next year’s allocation has already been raised significantly.”

On Thursday (February 6, 2025), the All India Research Scholars Association (AIRSA) wrote to Social Justice Secretary Amit Yadav, seeking a solution to the delay in releasing the grants once and for all. AIRSA president Dr. Lal Chandra Vishwakarma told The Hindu, “We’ve been raising this issue for a decade or more now. It is basic for researchers to get fellowship at the end of every month so that they can focus on their areas of research.”

Also read: Ministry responds to The Hindu report; to release OBC fellowship funds soon

An NFSC scholar from Punjabi University told The Hindu that her fellowship money has been pending for December and January. “We have a group of NFSC scholars, in which the fellowship money has been pending for as many as 130 scholars for one to three months,” the scholar, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

The AIRSA, in its letter to the Social Justice Secretary, sought timely disbursal of funds under the fellowship schemes, an increase in budgetary allocation for it, and a grievance redressal mechanism for scholars.