No domicile certificate needed for SC, OBC students seeking scholarships: Centre

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has dropped the requirement of submitting a domicile certificate for applying under the scholarship schemes for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Classes students, an official said on Friday.

The decision is part of the steps undertaken by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for major reforms and digital initiatives to improve accessibility and streamline scholarship processes for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Classes students, the official said in a statement.

The removal of the requirement to submit a Domicile Certificate for applying under the scholarship schemes is expected to reduce the compliance burden on students, the statement said.

The decision is also likely to simplify the application process, enabling easier access to benefits, it said, adding that this will benefit thousands of eligible applicants across the country who study in institutions outside their States.

Under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for SCs and OBCs, nearly 1.2 crore students receive scholarship benefits annually, said the statement.

Until now, a domicile certificate has been an essential requirement under these schemes. The removal of this requirement is expected to make the application process more student-friendly by reducing documentation requirements, lowering compliance costs, and facilitating easier access to scholarship benefits, said the statement.

Further strengthening digital governance, the Department has launched SETU (Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment) on the UMANG platform as a comprehensive solution for scholarship-related services, it said.

The platform provides a single interface for eligible applicants, Institutional Nodal Officers, District Nodal Officers, and State officials for application registration, tracking, and validation of other services, improving transparency and efficiency, it said.

These initiatives align with the government’s broader objective of promoting inclusion, reducing procedural barriers, and ensuring the effective delivery of welfare schemes.

The Department remains committed to leveraging technology-driven reforms to enhance outreach and provide timely support to students, the statement said.

--IANS

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