Telangana refuses to be part of Centre’s SC scholarship scheme

NEW DELHI: Telangana has become the only state to refuse to be part of the flagship central scheme, Post Matric Scholarship for SCs, as the Centre winds up the process of disbursal of Rs 3,500 crore to beneficiary students for 2021-22.
The TRS-ruled southern state did not agree to participate in the revamped PMS despite repeated reminders, as it found the revised guidelines of 2021 unacceptable. Under the new norms, the Union social justice ministry reimburses the scholarship money directly to a student’s bank account.
During the informal discussions, Telangana was insistent that the money be sent to the “institutions” which would then disburse it to the students, sources said. But the Centre refused to tweak the guidelines that it had issued only an year ago, and which it views as key to ending irregularities in the scheme.
Telangana is still running the popular programme which has high demand among Dalits, but is bearing the burden from its own exchequer.
As the sole outlier, Telangana appears to be emboldened by its revenue situation where it does not view the Centre’s money for PMS as enough of an incentive to junk its policy of giving the scholarship to the “institutions”. Sources said educational institutions are an influential bloc in the state, which even exercise a clout in policy-making, and the state appears reluctant to antagonise them.
Apparently, West Bengal was also hesitant to join the scheme but after the assembly elections, it became an enthusiastic partner in the PMS. In its first year after revamp, the PMS is likely to end up with 48 lakh beneficiaries and a expenditure of Rs 3,500 crore.