Lok Sabha Question No. 2918 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Padho Pardesh and Pre-Matric Schemes
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri V K Sreekandan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2918

ANSWERED ON 06/08/2025

## PADHO PARDESH AND PRE-MATRIC SCHEMES

## 2918. SHRI V K SREEKANDAN:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  reinstate  Padho  Pardesh  and  Pre-Matric  minority schemes and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether it is a fact that there has been a demand for timely release of the National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC) selection list and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is considering to revise the fellowship amounts and HRA and fellowship amounts under non-NET and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  scrutinise  the  NSP  blacklisting  process  and  reinstate genuine institutions and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government has any  plan to  conduct parliamentary review on the state of minority education in the country, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) & (b): The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 makes it obligatory for the Government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (classes I to VIII) to each and every child. Accordingly, only students studying in classes IX and X are covered under the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme of this Ministry. There is no proposal under consideration in this Ministry to re-introduce such coverage for classes I to VIII under the Pre-Matric Scholarship scheme. Padho Pardesh scheme aims to award interest  subsidy  on  educational  loan  to  minority  students  for  studying  abroad  to  pursue  approved courses of study at Masters, M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. The scheme has been discontinued from 202223 as education loan is available at cheaper rates through various other Government interventions. As such, there is no proposal under consideration to reinstate the Padho Pardesh scheme. The select list of National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC) is provided by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
- (c): The Ministry of Minority Affairs has implemented Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme  on  the  lines  of  the  Junior  Research  Fellowship  (JRF)  Scheme  of  University  Grants Commission (UGC) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The scheme has been discontinued from 2022-23 due to its apparent overlapping with similar schemes of other ministries. The House Rent Allowance (HRA) was disbursed to the scholars as per Government of India norms.
- (d): The existing structure of National Scholarship Portal provides parameters on the basis of which the verifying authorities can suspend a participating institute or revoke such suspension. Strengthening  the  end-to-end  process  of  scholarship  disbursement  through  various  means  is  a continuous process.
- (e):  There is no such proposal under consideration at present in the Ministry.

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