• The Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers Scheme (SHREYAS) initiative has been a cornerstone in India’s efforts to empower students from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) by providing them access to quality education.
• SHREYAS is an umbrella scheme, under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• SHREYAS aims for the Educational Empowerment of OBC & Economically Backward Class (EBC) students by way of awarding fellowships (financial assistance) in obtaining quality higher education and interest subsidy on educational loans for overseas studies.
• The umbrella scheme of “SHREYAS” comprises 4 central sector sub-schemes.

Free Coaching Scheme for SCs and OBCs

• Income Ceiling: Family income under the scheme is capped at 8 lakhs per annum.
• Slot Allocation: 3500 slots are allotted annually.
• Gender Inclusivity: 30% of slots are reserved for females in both categories.
• Allocation Ratio: The SC: OBC ratio is 70:30, ensuring equitable access.
• Outcomes: From 2014-15 to 2022-23, 19,995 beneficiaries have benefited through this.

Top-Class Education for SCs

• Objective: Recognize and promote quality education among SC students, covering studies beyond the 12th class.
• Income Ceiling: The family income limit is set at 8 lakhs per annum.
• Coverage: 266 higher education institutes, including prestigious institutions like IIMs, IITs, and NITs.
• Scholarship: Under the scheme, tuition fee, non-refundable charges, academic allowance and other expenses are provided.

National Overseas Scheme for SCs

• Objective: Under the National Overseas Scheme for SCs, financial assistance is provided to the selected students from SCs; De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes; landless agricultural labourers and traditional artisan categories, for pursuing masters and Ph.D. level courses abroad.
• Eligibility: A student with a total family income including the candidate should be less than Rs. 8 lakhs per annum, who has more than 60% marks in the qualifying examination, is below 35 years of age and who secured admission in the top 500 QS ranking foreign Institutes/ Universities.

National Fellowship for SC Students

• Aim: This fellowship supports SC students pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D. degrees in Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences in Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• Eligibility: Candidates who have qualified for the National Eligibility Test (NET-JRF) or Junior Research Fellows for Science stream qualifying UGC-Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (UGC-CSIR) Joint Test.
• Allocation: The scheme provides for 2000 new slots per year (500 for the science stream and 1500 for the Humanities and Social Sciences).

Practice Questions for Prelims

Consider the following sentences regarding “SHREYAS Scheme” –

1. Ministry of education is the nodal ministry for this scheme.
2. This empowers students from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) by providing them access to quality education.

Choose the correct incorrect statement
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans. a)

Mains Practice Question

Discuss the various steps taken by the government to empower the SCs and OBCs in India.

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