Lok Sabha Question No. 203 (STARRED), answered on 2015-08-04
Subject: Scholarship to Differently Abled Students
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: PRATHAP SIMHA

**GOVERNMENT OF INDIA**

**MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT**

**DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES**

**LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.203**

**TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2015**

**SCHOLARSHIP TO DIFFERENTLY ABLED STUDENTS**

**No. *203 : SHRI PRATHAP SIMHA:**

**Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state?**

a) 	the number of differently abled students in the country along with the number of such students covered under the various scholarship schemes being run by the Government, State-wise;

b) 	whether the Government is satisfied with the coverage of the differently abled students under the said schemes;

c) 	if not, the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken to provide scholarships to all the differently abled students in the country; and

d)	the other steps being taken for the overall growth, development and assistance for the differently abled citizens of the country?

**ANSWER**

**MINSTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT**

**(SHRI THAAWARCHAND GEHLOT)**

1. to  d) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

**Statement referred to in reply to**

**LOK SABHA Starred Question No. 203 for 04.08.2015 raised by**

**Shri Prathap Simha regarding Scholarship to Differently Abled Students**

1. As per the information available from Ministry of Human Resource Development, on the basis of Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) for 2013-14, 25,03,907 Children with Special Needs (CWSN) are enrolled in schools. Besides, 2,06,713 severe/profound CWSN are covered under Home Based Education (HBE). State-wise number of CWSN is given in **Annexure I** .

Under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, 405 special schools are being run by NGOs in which 52,624 students with disabilities were enrolled in the year 2014-15.

The following scholarship schemes are being implemented for the Students with Disabilities-

1. Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Students with Disabilities (RGNFD) –for pursuing M.Phil/Ph.D courses. There is a provision of 200 Fellowships every year. Selection is done University Grants Commission.
2. Scholarship from Trust Fund (implemented through National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) – for pursuing for Graduate/Post Graduate level technical/ professional courses. There is a provision of 2500 scholarships every year.
3. Scholarship Scheme from National Fund (implemented through NHFDC) – for post matric courses up to Ph.D including technical/professional courses. In case of Cerebral Palsy/Mentally Retarded/Multiple Disabilities/ severe Hearing Impaired students this scholarship can be considered from class IX onwards. There is a provision of 500 scholarships every year.
4. Gyan Prabha Scholarship scheme (being implemented by National Trust) for persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities for courses of Post-school professional courses or vocational training, leading to skill development and employment. There is a provision of 1000 scholarships every year.
5. Pre-Matric Scholarship and Post-Matric Scholarship for Students with Disabilities -  For Class IX and X at pre-matric level and for class XI onwards up to bachelors degree at post-matric level. There is a provision of 46,000 pre-matric and 16,650 post-matric scholarships every year.

contd...

**:2:**

1. Scholarship for Top Class Education for post graduate courses in certain notified institutions, there is a provision of 160 scholarships every year.
2. National Overseas Scholarship for pursuing Master’s and Doctorate Degree level courses at abroad. There is a provision of 20 scholarships and two passage grants every year.

The number of students covered under the above scholarship schemes during the year 2014-15 are given in **Annexure-II** .

b) & c):  The schemes of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship, Scholarship from Trust Fund, and Scholarship from National Fund have been running for the past few years and hence their coverage is good.

However, in case of recently launched Scholarship Schemes like Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, National Overseas Scholarship ( all three launched in 2014-15) and Top Class Education Scholarship (launched in 2015-16) the following steps have been taken to create mass awareness and to popularise the schemes among the targeted beneficiaries  –

- Advertisements through Newspapers and website have been issued,
- The schemes of Pre-matric, Post-matric and Top Class have been on-boarded and being implemented on-line on the “National e-Scholarship Portal” www.scholarships.gov.in.
- Regional workshops have been conducted covering all States/Union Territories to sensitise and to apprise the State Governments of the process of grant of scholarship and its successful implementation.
- Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Human Resource Development and all the State Governments have been requested to disseminate information about the schemes through the institutions/organizations under their control for mass awareness and publicity.
- The National Institutes, and NGOs associated with this Department have been requested to give wide publicity to these schemes through their institutions and students with disabilities.
- A national level conference of all State/UT Secretaries concerned with disability was held on 2 nd and 3 rd July, 2015 and they were requested to make the scholarship schemes popular and successful for the benefit of the students with disabilities.

d) 	The primary responsibility for programs for the welfare of persons with disabilities, including persons with physical and mental disabilities, lies with the State Government as per entry No.9 in the “State List”. However, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities supplements the efforts of the States in the welfare of Persons with Disabilities. A list of schemes being run by this Department for differently abled citizen of the country is given at **Annexure-III** .

*********

**Annexure-I referred to in reply to part (a) of**

**LOK SABHA Starred Question No. 203 for 04.08.2015**

**Details on State-wise enrollment of CWSN as per U-DISE of Ministry of HRD for 2013-14**

| State             |   CWSN Enrolled in Schools |   Children covered under Home Based Education* |
|-------------------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| A & N Islands     |                        548 |                                             51 |
| Aandhra Prdesh    |                     176193 |                                           7093 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                      13011 |                                            513 |
| Assam             |                      92726 |                                          20242 |
| Bihar             |                     212141 |                                           6462 |
| Chandigarh        |                       4499 |                                            219 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                      85983 |                                           1626 |
| D & N Haveli      |                        352 |                                             70 |
| Daman & Diu       |                        162 |                                             42 |
| Delhi             |                      18536 |                                              0 |
| Goa               |                       2317 |                                              7 |
| Gujarat           |                     101936 |                                           9427 |
| Haryana           |                       5203 |                                           5181 |
| Himchal Pradesh   |                      13886 |                                           1534 |
| Jammu & Kashmir   |                      21539 |                                              0 |
| Jharkhand         |                      76495 |                                           7957 |
| Karnataka         |                     118384 |                                           7315 |
| Kerala            |                     188036 |                                              0 |
| Lakshadweep       |                        300 |                                             39 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |                      73161 |                                            399 |
| Maharashtra       |                     295079 |                                          57345 |
| Manipur           |                       8153 |                                           2102 |
| Meghalaya         |                       8177 |                                           2484 |
| Mizoram           |                      11725 |                                             52 |
| Nagaland          |                       9040 |                                           1868 |
| Odisha            |                     130285 |                                           1060 |
| Puducherry        |                       1153 |                                             73 |
| Punjab            |                     104675 |                                           7717 |
| Rajasthan         |                     114287 |                                           3585 |
| Sikkim            |                       1350 |                                            151 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                     135733 |                                          13915 |
| Tripura           |                       3924 |                                            840 |
| Uttrakhand        |                      14150 |                                           3507 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                     288865 |                                             31 |
| West Bengal       |                     171903 |                                          43806 |
| Total             |                    2503907 |                                         206713 |

| **Annexure-II referred to in reply to part (a) of**  **LOK SABHA Starred Question No. 203 for 04.08.2015**        |                                                                                                                   |                                                                                                                   |                                                                                                                   |                                                                                                                   |                                                                                                                   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 | STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 | STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 | STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 | STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 | STATE-WISE LIST OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING THE YEAR 2014-15 |
| **S.NO**                                                                                                          | **STATE**                                                                                                         | **RGNFD**                                                                                                         | **TRUST FUND**                                                                                                    | **NATIONAL FUND**                                                                                                 | **GYAN PRABHA**                                                                                                   |
| 1                                                                                                                 | Andhra Pradesh *                                                                                                  | 137                                                                                                               | 165                                                                                                               | 28                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 2                                                                                                                 | Andaman & Nicobar                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 3                                                                                                                 | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 4                                                                                                                 | Assam                                                                                                             | 10                                                                                                                | 17                                                                                                                | 4                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 5                                                                                                                 | Bihar                                                                                                             | 37                                                                                                                | 266                                                                                                               | 35                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 6                                                                                                                 | Chandigarh                                                                                                        | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 7                                                                                                                 | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                      | 6                                                                                                                 | 28                                                                                                                | 9                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 8                                                                                                                 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 9                                                                                                                 | Daman & Diu                                                                                                       | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 10                                                                                                                | Delhi                                                                                                             | 9                                                                                                                 | 50                                                                                                                | 4                                                                                                                 | 3                                                                                                                 |
| 11                                                                                                                | Goa                                                                                                               | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 12                                                                                                                | Gujarat                                                                                                           | 14                                                                                                                | 32                                                                                                                | 31                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 13                                                                                                                | Haryana                                                                                                           | 17                                                                                                                | 42                                                                                                                | 5                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 14                                                                                                                | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                  | 4                                                                                                                 | 10                                                                                                                | 4                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 15                                                                                                                | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                                                   | 11                                                                                                                | 23                                                                                                                | 4                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 16                                                                                                                | Jharkhand                                                                                                         | 14                                                                                                                | 51                                                                                                                | 5                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 17                                                                                                                | Karnataka                                                                                                         | 31                                                                                                                | 95                                                                                                                | 55                                                                                                                | 1                                                                                                                 |
| 18                                                                                                                | Kerala                                                                                                            | 17                                                                                                                | 54                                                                                                                | 41                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 19                                                                                                                | Lakshadweep                                                                                                       | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 20                                                                                                                | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                    | 17                                                                                                                | 100                                                                                                               | 44                                                                                                                | 1                                                                                                                 |
| 21                                                                                                                | Maharashtra                                                                                                       | 43                                                                                                                | 95                                                                                                                | 26                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 22                                                                                                                | Manipur                                                                                                           | 3                                                                                                                 | 2                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 23                                                                                                                | Meghalaya                                                                                                         | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 24                                                                                                                | Mizoram                                                                                                           | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 25                                                                                                                | Nagaland                                                                                                          | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 26                                                                                                                | Odisha                                                                                                            | 27                                                                                                                | 71                                                                                                                | 27                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 27                                                                                                                | Pondicherry                                                                                                       | 5                                                                                                                 | 6                                                                                                                 | 2                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 28                                                                                                                | Punjab                                                                                                            | 9                                                                                                                 | 13                                                                                                                | 2                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 29                                                                                                                | Rajasthan                                                                                                         | 19                                                                                                                | 18                                                                                                                | 6                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 30                                                                                                                | Sikkim                                                                                                            | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 31                                                                                                                | Telengana                                                                                                         | 17                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 32                                                                                                                | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                        | 57                                                                                                                | 156                                                                                                               | 34                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 33                                                                                                                | Tripura                                                                                                           | 3                                                                                                                 | 5                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 34                                                                                                                | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                     | 102                                                                                                               | 524                                                                                                               | 95                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 35                                                                                                                | Uttarakhand                                                                                                       | 5                                                                                                                 | 22                                                                                                                | 1                                                                                                                 | 2                                                                                                                 |
| 36                                                                                                                | West Bengal                                                                                                       | 39                                                                                                                | 75                                                                                                                | 53                                                                                                                | 0                                                                                                                 |
|                                                                                                                   | **Total**                                                                                                         | **654**                                                                                                           | **1924**                                                                                                          | **517**                                                                                                           | **7**                                                                                                             |
| *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   | *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   | *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   | *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   | *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   | *   Includes Telangana except for RGNFD 2014-15                                                                   |

N.B. 1. The scheme of National Overseas Scholarship was launched in October, 2014  but no candidate was found suitable.

N.B 2. The scheme of Pre-matric and Post-matric scholarship was launched in October, 2014. Since there was no portal, the State Governments were advised to implement the schemes and to send the list of selected candidates. Only three States namely Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Manipur have sent their list of selected candidates at the fag end of the financial year 2014-15 and hence no funds could be released.

**Annexure-III referred to in reply to part (c) of**

**LOK SABHA Starred Question No. 203 for 04.08.2015**

1. **Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS):**

Under this scheme  financial assistance is provided to Non-governmental organizations for providing various services to persons with disabilities like special schools for mentally retarded children, vocational training centres, project for cerebral palsied children, pre-school and early intervention & training, half-way homes for psycho-rehabilitation of treated and controlled mentally ill persons etc.

1. **Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase of Aids/Appliances (ADIP)** :

Under this Scheme assistance is provided to Implementing Agencies for providing aids and appliances to persons with disabilities. The implementing agencies include NGOs, National Institutes, District Disability Rehabilitation Centres, State Handicapped Development Corporation/other local bodies etc.

1. **Scheme arising out of the Implementation of the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 (SIPDA):**

Financial assistance is provided under the Scheme to State Govt. and institutions/organisations run by the Central and State Governments for various activities for implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act, mainly for providing barrier free environment in Universities, Public Buildings, State Government Secretariat, office of State Commissioner for Disabilities etc. Financial assistance is also provided to make Government websites at the State and District levels accessible to PwDs, to establish early diagnostic and intervention centres at District Headquarters/other places having Government Medical Colleges, with a view to help hearing impaired infants and young children to acquire necessary skills to get prepared for regular schooling, Skill development programmes for PwDs., Construction of special recreation centres for PwDs where the appropriate Governments/local authorities have their own land.

1. **National Action Plan for Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities** :

The National Action Plan for Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities has been announced on 21 st March, 2015.  Presently skill development is done through NHFDC, National Institutes, Vocational Rehabilitation Centres for Handicapped (VRCH) under Ministry of Labour & Employment and NGOs with the financial assistance under the DDRS Scheme.  The National Action Plan targets skilling of 5 lakh PwDs in the first three years of its launch and 25 lakh up to the year 2022 with the help of a cluster of training partners.

1. **Incentives to Private Employers for Providing Employment for Physically Challenged:**

Under this Scheme, the Ministry provides the employer’s contribution for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) for 3 years, for employees with disabilities employed in the private sector on or after 01.04.2008, with a monthly salary upto Rs.25,000/-.

1. **National Institutes**

There are 7 National Institutes under this Ministry working in the field of disability. National Institutes are autonomous bodies established for specific disabilities.  These Institutes are engaged in Human Resources Development in the field of disability; providing rehabilitation services to the persons with disabilities and Research and Development.

1. **Institutional Framework to monitor implementation of PwD Act, 1995**

- Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) set up under Section 57 of the PwD Act, 1995,
- Rehabilitation Council of India,
- National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities.

1. **District Disability Rehabilitation Centres**

For providing comprehensive rehabilitation services to the persons with disabilities at the grass-root level District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) have been set up in the identified and approved districts of the country.  310 districts have been identified for setting up of DDRCs, however, 253 DDRCs have been set up and fund for at-least once given so far.  Funds to DDRCs are provided under the scheme of DDRS/SIPDA.

1. **National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities**

Under the scheme, 58 National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities are given under 14 broad categories.  These awards have been instituted with the objective to focus public attention on issues concerning persons with disabilities and to promote their mainstream in the society.  These awards are given on 3 rd December every year on the “International Day of Persons with Disability”.

1. **Public Sector Undertakings**

- **National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation(NHFDC):**

NHFDC was set up on 24th January 1997. Its main activities include providing concessional loans to persons with disabilities for self-employment and for pursuing professional/technical education leading to vocational rehabilitation/self-employment.

- **Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO):**

ALIMCO was set up in 1972 under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 for manufacturing and supplying durable, sophisticated, scientifically manufactured modern and ISI standard quality Assistive aids and appliances to PwDs. ALIMCO, an ISO 9001-2000 company, is the premier and the largest manufacturer of quality Aids & Appliances in whole of South Asia.

*********