SC, OBC scholarship domicile rule scrapped to ease access for 1.2 crore students
Synopsis
The government has quietly removed one of the most persistent barriers to SC and OBC scholarship access — the domicile certificate requirement — freeing up eligibility for thousands of out-of-state students among the 1.2 crore who benefit annually. Paired with the new SETU digital platform on UMANG, the reform signals a shift from paperwork-heavy welfare delivery to technology-first inclusion.
Key Takeaways
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has removed the domicile certificate requirement for SC and OBC Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarship applicants, effective 19 June 2025 .
Nearly 1.2 crore students receive benefits annually under these schemes; out-of-state students were most affected by the old rule.
The department launched SETU (Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment) on the UMANG platform to unify application, tracking, and validation services. ₹7,981.47 crore was disbursed to over 75 lakh SC beneficiaries in FY26 , with year-on-year spending rising across all major scholarship programmes.
Pre-Matric scholarship expenditure rose 21% , Post-Matric by 11.23% , and Top Class Education scholarship by 13.5% year-on-year.
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has scrapped the domicile certificate requirement for students applying under Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarship schemes for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), according to an official statement released on Friday, 19 June. The move is expected to ease access for thousands of eligible students who study in states other than their home state — a group previously disadvantaged by the documentation requirement.
What Changes for Students
Until now, applicants were required to furnish a domicile certificate — a document that proved their residential status in a particular state — as part of the scholarship application process. The removal of this requirement directly reduces paperwork and compliance costs for students. The department said the change will make the process more 'student-friendly' and lower procedural barriers for those enrolled in out-of-state institutions.
Notably, the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes together serve nearly 1.2 crore students annually. The domicile rule had effectively excluded or delayed benefits for a significant subset of this group — those studying away from their registered home state.
SETU Platform Launched on UMANG
Alongside the domicile rule change, the department has launched SETU — Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment — on the UMANG platform. The digital interface consolidates scholarship-related services for applicants, Institutional Nodal Officers, District Nodal Officers, and state officials into a single portal covering application registration, tracking, and validation.
The platform is designed to improve transparency and reduce processing delays across the scholarship pipeline. This comes amid a broader government push toward digital governance in welfare delivery, with UMANG already serving as a unified access point for dozens of central government services.
Disbursement Record in FY26
The reform builds on a strong disbursement year. According to an official statement from April, a total of ₹7,981.47 crore was disbursed to over 75 lakh SC beneficiaries in FY26 under schemes run by the department focused on educational empowerment of marginalised students.
Year-on-year expenditure rose across key programmes: the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others recorded a 21% increase; the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs rose by 11.23%; and the Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC students grew by 13.5%.
What the Government Said
'These initiatives are aligned with the government's broader objective of promoting inclusion, reducing procedural barriers, and ensuring effective delivery of welfare schemes,' the official statement noted. The department added that it remains committed to leveraging technology-driven reforms to enhance outreach and provide timely support to students.
What Comes Next
With the domicile barrier removed and the SETU platform now live, the next test is uptake — whether students in out-of-state institutions are made aware of the change and can navigate the UMANG interface without friction. Advocacy groups working with SC and OBC communities have long flagged documentation requirements as a key reason for low scholarship utilisation rates, making implementation monitoring critical going forward.
Point of View
But it addresses a symptom rather than the structural problem: scholarship utilisation among SC and OBC students has consistently lagged entitlement, driven by awareness gaps, institutional bottlenecks, and delayed disbursements. The SETU platform is a welcome step, but digital-first solutions work only when the students they target have reliable internet access and institutional support — conditions that remain uneven across states. The FY26 disbursement numbers are impressive on paper, but without independent audit of actual beneficiary reach versus eligible population, the gap between allocation and impact stays unmeasured.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has the government removed the domicile certificate requirement for SC and OBC scholarships?
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment removed the requirement to reduce documentation burden and ease access for students studying in states other than their home state. The change is intended to make the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarship application process more student-friendly and lower compliance costs.
How many students are affected by this scholarship rule change?
Nearly 1.2 crore students receive benefits annually under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for SCs and OBCs. Thousands of those studying in out-of-state institutions were previously disadvantaged by the domicile certificate requirement.
What is the SETU platform launched on UMANG?
SETU — Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment — is a digital platform launched on the UMANG app that provides a single interface for applicants, nodal officers, and state officials to register, track, and validate scholarship applications. It aims to improve transparency and reduce processing delays.
How much has the government disbursed under SC scholarship schemes in FY26?
According to an official statement, ₹7,981.47 crore was disbursed to over 75 lakh SC beneficiaries in FY26 under schemes run by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment. Expenditure rose year-on-year across all major scholarship programmes.
Which scholarship programmes saw increased spending in FY26?
The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others saw a 21% year-on-year increase, the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs rose by 11.23%, and the Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC students grew by 13.5%.
