Lok Sabha Question No. 1506 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Hidden Talent of Poor Students at School and College Level
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Biplab Kumar Deb

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1506

ANSWERED ON - 09/02/2026

## Hidden Talent of Poor Students at School and College Level

†1506. Shri Biplab Kumar Deb:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any schemes and projects are being implemented by the Government to develop the  hidden  talent  of  poor  students  at  school  and  college  level  in  rural  areas  of  the  country especially in the State of Tripura;
- (b) if so, whether the Government proposes to set up funds for this purpose; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise and district-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (c) Education falls under the concurrent list of the Constitution, with majority of the Schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) coming under the purview of States and UTs. On its part, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), the Department of Higher  Education  (DHE)  and  their  Autonomous  Bodies  implement  various  schemes  and projects to support talented students and students belonging to Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDG) in line with the mandates of National Education Policy, 2020.

The Central Sector Scheme 'National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme', awards scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students of class IX every year and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum. States and UTs have fixed allotted quota. Number of awards allocated to Tripura under National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme is 351.

The number of scholarships awarded to all States/UTs, including Tripura, during the last five year, alongwith the details of funds allocated, sanctioned and utilized under the scheme is tabulated below:

|   S.No. | Financial Year   |   Funds allocation (Rs. in Crore) |   Actual Expenditure (Rs. in Crore) |   No. of Scholarships |
|---------|------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|       1 | 2020-21          |                             350   |                              321.11 |                267503 |
|       2 | 2021-22          |                             284.2 |                              251.98 |                206794 |

|   3 | 2022-23   |   307.45 |   306.49 |   259524 |
|-----|-----------|----------|----------|----------|
|   4 | 2023-24   |    358   |   313.1  |   250089 |
|   5 | 2024-25   |    352.6 |   352.49 |   277760 |

Further,  the  Navodaya  Vidyalaya  Scheme  envisages  for  opening  of  one  Navodaya Vidyalaya (NV) in each district of the country to provide good quality modern education, free of  cost  to  the  talented  students  predominantly  from  rural  areas.  As  of  now,  8  Navodaya Vidyalayas have been established in the State of Tripura.

Additionally,  under  the  Centrally  sponsored  scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha,  funds  are allocated  to  States/UTs  based  on  the  appraisal  and  approval  of  the Annual Work  Plan  and Budget (AWP&B) prepared by them factoring in their requirements and priorities. Various interventions are available under the scheme for supporting equitable and universal access to quality  education  and  retention  in  school  education.  This  includes  support  provided  under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 2009, wherein financial outlay of Rs. 91.07 lakh has been approved  for  the  State  of  Tripura  during  2020-21  to  2024-25,  as  reimbursement  against admission of EWS students in neighbourhood private unaided schools. Further, assistance is also  provided  for  establishment  of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas  (KGBVs)  in  those identified Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where, as per census data of 2001, the rural female literacy is below the national average and which does not have residential schools under any other scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Tribal Affairs or the State Government. As of now, 15 KGBVs are functional in the State of Tripura.

The Department of Higher Education (DHE) implements the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha  Protsahan  Yojana  (PM-USP)  which  has  three  components  namely  Central  Sector Scheme  of  Scholarship  for  College  and  University  Students  (CSSS),  Special  Scholarship Scheme for the students of J&K and Ladakh (SSS for JKL) and Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme (CSIS). Further, the PM Vidyalaxmi, a new central sector scheme has been launched on 6th November 2024. The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that no student is denied the  opportunity  to  pursue  higher  education  due  to  financial  constraints.  Under  the  scheme, collateral-free and guarantor-free education loan is provided to all the students who get meritbased admission in top Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) and who desire to avail the education loan and there is no upper limit for this. Further, for students with annual family income up to ₹ 8 lakh, the scheme provides 3% interest subvention on education loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs. Up to one lakh fresh students not getting any other scholarship or interest subvention on  education  loan  will  get  this  interest  subvention. A  dedicated  online  platform,  the  PM Vidyalaxmi portal https://pmvidyalaxmi.co.in has been developed on which students can apply for the education loan as well as interest subvention, through a simplified application process.

Besides  the  above,  the  State  Government  of  Tripura  also  implements  Schemes  to support talent development in the State, which includes Super 30 Project, Chief Minister's Scholarship  for Achievers  Towards  Higher  Learning,  SCERT  Talent  Search  Examination, Tripura Science & Mathematics Talent Search Examination (Class VI), Tripura Science Talent Search  Examination  (Class  IX),  Tripura  Math  Talent  Search  Examination  (Class  IX)  and Tripura Sanskrit Scholarship Examination (Class VIII).