'Delay creates anxiety': Students seek clarity on INSPIRE-SHE scholarship for 2024-25 batch

Thousands of science students across the country have started a public petition over the delay in the disbursement of the INSPIRE-SHE scholarship for the 2024-25 batch. The students have urged the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to notify the batch regarding the scholarship, alleging that the delay has left them uncertain about the financial support for higher education.

According to the petition, no official notification has been issued for the 2024-25 batch students regarding the INSPIRE SHE scholarship .

They claimed that the application cycle opens between September and October every year. However, no explanation, timeline or clarity has been issued from the government .

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INSPIRE-SHE Scholarship 2024-25

Notably, in July this year, Careers360 reported on the delay in the disbursement of INSPIRE-SHE scholarship for the 2024-25 batch. Students have been flagging the delay issue surrounding the Class 12 scholarship for the past two years.

Several students told Careers360 that their institutes have informed them that the INSPIRE-SHE scholarship will not be awarded to the 2024-25 batch this year. However, there was no official announcement on the scheme’s status.

The INSPIRE-SHE scholarship is awarded to Class 12 students to pursue higher education in basic and natural sciences.

“We are not asking for a favor. We are asking for what has been promised to meritorious students for over ten years. Every day of delay is a day of anxiety for students who have built their academic plans around this scholarship, trusting the system to honor merit as it always has,” the petition read.

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'Disburse immediately': Students over delay in INSPIRE-SHE scholarship

Therefore, students have appealed to the DST and the government to “immediately” notify and disburse the INSPIRE-SHE scholarship for the 2024-25 batch without further delay.

It has also urged the government to provide official clarity on the status of INSPIRE-SHE under the new "Vigyan Dhara" scheme, and confirm whether meritorious undergraduate science students will continue to receive financial support.

The government should also announce a fixed, transparent annual timeline for the scholarship so that the students are not left in uncertainty “year after year,” it said.

There should be a proper communication channel or helpline where affected students can get direct updates on their scholarship status, it read.

The petition also stated that the government should ensure that no meritorious student is denied an opportunity they have rightfully earned due to administrative delays or lack of clarity.