J'khand CM writes to PM, claims Rs 700 cr fund deficit in central scholarships impacting students

Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that a funding gap of more than Rs 700 crore in central scholarship support over the last two financial years has adversely affected lakhs of students, and sought his intervention to resolve the issue.

Soren also urged the prime minister to enhance the Centre's allocation for pre-matric and post-matric scholarships and resume scholarship assistance for students from minority communities. In his letter, the chief minister claimed that while Jharkhand sought Rs 370.87 crore for post-matric scholarships in 2025-26, the Centre released only Rs 58.22 crore.

"Similarly, against the state's demand of Rs 353.21 crore in 2024-25, only Rs 33.57 crore was sanctioned," he said. Soren alleged that the funding shortfall has delayed scholarship payments to lakhs of students, jeopardising their education.

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Highlighting the state's financial constraints, he said Jharkhand sought Rs 66.14 crore under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's pre-matric scholarship scheme for Backward Class students in 2024-25 but received only Rs 12.61 crore from the Centre. For 2025-26, the state requested Rs 45.91 crore, but only Rs 3.95 crore was released, he claimed.

Soren said Jharkhand has adopted a transparent, income-based scholarship eligibility system instead of relying on caste or community identity, in line with the principles of social justice. He also questioned the Centre's notional allocations, claiming the state received only Rs 23.78 crore for 2024-25 and Rs 32.70 crore for 2025-26, which were inadequate compared with its actual requirements.

Soren seeks pending ST scholarship funds

He urged the prime minister to enhance the allocations to ensure timely scholarship benefits for all eligible students. Referring to scholarship schemes for Scheduled Tribe students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Soren claimed that no central funds have been released for either pre-matric or post-matric scholarships during 2025-26.

He said the Rs 200 crore released during 2024-25 was not fresh funding but comprised arrears for 2022-23 and the first instalment of the Centre's 42 per cent share for 2023-24. "As a result, the remaining 58 per cent share for 2023-24, along with the entire Central share for 2024-25 and 2025-26, is still pending," he said.

Soren also highlighted disparities in scholarship rates, stating that Scheduled Tribe students receive only Rs 3,000 per year, compared to Rs 3,500 for Scheduled Castes and Rs 4,000 for Backward Class students. He urged the Centre to remove this disparity by increasing the scholarship amount for ST students.

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Jharkhand urges Centre to restore minority scholarships

Drawing attention to welfare of minorities, Soren said they account for 23.29 per cent of Jharkhand's population. He said central scholarship assistance for minority students has not been released since 2021-22, adversely affecting educational opportunities, and requested the Government of India to revive the scheme immediately.

Emphasising that Jharkhand is a developing state with a large population from economically weaker and backward communities, Soren appealed to the PM to adopt a policy providing a higher Central share in scholarship schemes, particularly post-matric scholarships, for such states. He said enhanced support would ensure that lakhs of deserving students continue their education and contribute to the country's development.