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Post-matric scholarships: in 2021-22 the Centre released 20.7% of what States asked for; 4,804,208 SC students were paid in 2024-25

How many Scheduled Caste students does the Post-Matric Scholarship reach, State by State, and how much of the money States ask for does the Centre release?

By The Dalit ProjectUPDATED OCTOBER 10, 2026

The Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students (PMS-SC), the Centre’s (the Union Government’s) scholarship for Scheduled Caste students studying after Class 10, run by the States with central assistance. Students paid by State, 2020-21 to 2024-25; what States asked for and what the Centre released, 2019-20 to 2021-22; and the scheme’s budget, spending and releases, 2023-24 to 2025-26; all as the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told Parliament in answers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, its lower and upper houses, from 27 July 2022 to 11 August 2026.

SC students paid in 2024-25
4,804,208
of what States asked for that the Centre released, 2021-22
20.7%

  1. Exhibit 1

    The scholarship paid 4,804,208 Scheduled Caste students in 2024-25, against 5,016,082 in 2020-21; the fewest in these five years were 3,025,136, in 2021-22

    Students paid under the Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students, all India, financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25.

    1. 5,016,0822020-21
    2. 3,025,1362021-22
    3. 4,647,1352022-23
    4. 4,738,5782023-24
    5. 4,804,2082024-25

    Note: The answer says the scheme “was on-boarded on National Scholarship Portal from the year 2021-22”. In 2021-22, 14 States and UTs show no students paid.

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 260, 22 July 2025, Annexure-I. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

  2. Exhibit 2

    In 2021-22 States and Union Territories (UTs) asked the Centre for ₹9,329.84 crore (about US$1.3 billion at 2021-22 rates) for the scholarship; it released ₹1,930.38 crore (about US$260 million at 2021-22 rates), 20.7% of what was asked

    Annual demand submitted by States and UTs, and central assistance released, ₹ crore, all India, 2019-20 to 2021-22.

    YearAsked for₹ croreReleased₹ croreReleased as share of asked
    2019-208,568.382,711.3031.6%
    2020-218,295.134,008.6048.3%
    2021-229,329.841,930.3820.7%

    Note: The answer says central assistance is released “based on the demand proposed in Annual Action Plans received from the States/UTs after adjusting the unspent balance amount of previous years”. The rules changed in 2020-21 (see the caveats), so the three years are not counted the same way.

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question 1256, 27 July 2022, Annexure. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

  3. Exhibit 3

    In 2021-22, 12 of the 28 States and UTs that asked for central assistance received none

    Annual demand submitted and central assistance released, ₹ crore, by State and UT, 2021-22, largest demand first.

    1. Uttar PradeshAsked forReleased1,993 537
    2. Tamil Nadu1,283 279
    3. Maharashtra1,162 63
    4. Andhra Pradesh725 299
    5. Madhya Pradesh583 8
    6. Punjab547 210
    7. Karnataka522 65
    8. Rajasthan455 96
    9. Telangana431 0
    10. Gujarat325 103
    11. Odisha285 78
    12. West Bengal249 112
    13. Bihar204 0
    14. Kerala150 46
    15. Haryana135 0
    16. Chhattisgarh59 29
    17. Himachal Pradesh55 0
    18. Tripura38 0
    19. Jharkhand27 4
    20. Assam22 0
    21. Uttarakhand20 0
    22. Delhi18 0
    23. Puducherry16 0
    24. Jammu & Kashmir13 0
    25. Manipur8 0
    26. Chandigarh4 2
    27. Sikkim1 0
    28. Daman & Diu0 0

    Note: From 2021-22 the central share is paid straight into students’ bank accounts and, the Ministry says, only after a State pays its own share and puts the data on the National Scholarship Portal. The answer does not say why each State received what it did.

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question 1256, 27 July 2022, Annexure. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

  4. Exhibit 4

    In 2025-26 the scheme’s revised budget was ₹6,000.00 crore (about US$690 million) and the Ministry spent ₹6,208.08 crore (about US$710 million)

    Budget allocation (revised estimate) and actual expenditure, ₹ crore, 2023-24 to 2025-26, with the central assistance released to States and UTs as the same answer totals it.

    YearBudget (revised estimate)₹ croreActual expenditure₹ croreReleased to States and UTs₹ crore
    2023-245,400.005,475.425,475.43
    2024-255,500.005,581.525,562.26
    2025-266,000.006,208.086,186.95

    Note: The same answer gives two totals that differ for 2024-25 and 2025-26: actual expenditure in Annexure-I and the State rows of Annexure-II (2024-25: 5,581.52 against 5,562.26; 2025-26: 6,208.08 against 6,186.95). It does not explain the difference; both are shown as printed.

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 3852, 11 August 2026, Annexure-I and Annexure-II. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

  5. Exhibit 5

    Tamil Nadu paid the most Scheduled Caste students in 2024-25, 934,793; Telangana, which paid 223,613 in 2020-21, shows none in 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25

    Students paid under the Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students, by State and UT, 2024-25. Telangana is in the accent colour.

    1. Tamil Nadu934,793
    2. Uttar Pradesh644,827
    3. Madhya Pradesh636,303
    4. Karnataka404,008
    5. Maharashtra362,808
    6. Andhra Pradesh303,298
    7. Punjab294,284
    8. Rajasthan229,002
    9. Odisha191,873
    10. Gujarat157,584
    11. Kerala147,531
    12. West Bengal108,693
    13. Chhattisgarh87,675
    14. Bihar73,615
    15. Jharkhand57,784
    16. Haryana55,444
    17. Himachal Pradesh33,149
    18. Uttarakhand26,216
    19. Tripura19,849
    20. Assam12,073
    21. Manipur7,938
    22. Jammu & Kashmir6,567
    23. Delhi4,692
    24. Puducherry2,694
    25. Chandigarh1,253
    26. Sikkim172
    27. Goa58
    28. Meghalaya25
    29. Daman & Diu0
    30. Telangana0

    Note: For 2024-25, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2788, 10 March 2026, says: “No State/UT share paid data has been received from the State of Telangana & UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (DNH&DD) on the central portal.”

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 260, 22 July 2025, Annexure-I. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

  6. Exhibit 6

    Students paid, State by State, 2020-21 to 2024-25: 22,231,139 payments to students over the five years

    Students paid under the Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students, by State and UT and financial year, in the order the answer prints them.

    State/UT2020-21students2021-22students2022-23students2023-24students2024-25students
    Andhra Pradesh409,678243,823238,915195,269303,298
    Assam7,942011,1408,42612,073
    Bihar78,1810136,34068,97573,615
    Chandigarh1,1288998762871,253
    Chhattisgarh101,98787,46496,26779,23787,675
    Daman & Diu14209800
    Delhi20,70907,5313,1604,692
    Goa660<53458
    Gujarat145,41397,697113,531179,116157,584
    Haryana68,183087,91370,46455,444
    Himachal Pradesh16,445021,50223,95933,149
    Jammu & Kashmir9,85610010,0977,3706,567
    Jharkhand30,6087,80533,92244,61057,784
    Karnataka318,389131,448458,548403,965404,008
    Kerala125,89890,86642,521155,319147,531
    Madhya Pradesh475,99348,270445,319346,289636,303
    Maharashtra391,77868,576148,573749,317362,808
    Manipur6,09608,9882,1257,938
    Meghalaya00–025
    Odisha173,26475,530299,369143,861191,873
    Puducherry4,30303,9042,5642,694
    Punjab176,482152,15740,708199,508294,284
    Rajasthan365,604217,176303,252151,922229,002
    Sikkim3510448216172
    Tamil Nadu654,131441,672543,772643,761934,793
    Telangana223,6130000
    Tripura14,721022,27816,85819,849
    Uttar Pradesh802,648868,5541,269,634949,934644,827
    Uttarakhand30,530027,73523,80426,216
    West Bengal361,943493,099273,953268,228108,693
    Total (as printed)5,016,0823,025,1364,647,1354,738,5784,804,208

    Note: The answer adds the five years to 22,231,139; a student paid in more than one year is counted in each. The cell for Meghalaya in 2022-23 is blank in the answer and is left blank. Counts of 1 to 4 show as “<5”.

    Source: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 260, 22 July 2025, Annexure-I. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026.

About this data

What this shows
How many Scheduled Caste students the Post-Matric Scholarship paid in each State from 2020-21 to 2024-25, how much central money States asked for and received from 2019-20 to 2021-22, and what the Centre budgeted and spent from 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Source
Rajya Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India; Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, 5 documents, Annexure. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 10 Oct 2026. Every source
What it does not show
How many students applied and are still waiting to be paid: the Ministry was asked in Parliament and gave no such figure.
Last updated
10 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: after the next Parliament answer that gives the scholarship’s figures by State
Corrections
Changelog (version 1) · Corrections policy

Sources, caveats and definitions