PM-USP scholarships for college students drop by 31% in 3 years; Bihar an exception
The Centre disbursed 2,741 PM-USP scholarships for the Bihar students in 2019-20, which significantly increased to 32,938 in 2024-25.
Anu Parthiban | March 11, 2025 | 08:33 PM IST
NEW DELHI: The number of central sector scholarships for college and university students under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) decreased by 31% in the last three years. However, the PM-USP scholarship count for Bihar students has significantly increased in the last 5 years.
As per the data shared by the education ministry, the scholarship count dropped overall by 31.1% in the last 3 years. But Bihar is an exception. The Centre disbursed 2,741 scholarships for the Bihar students in 2019-20, which significantly increased to 32,938 in 2024-25.
PM-USP centre sector scheme of scholarships for college and university students comprises three components namely - Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students; Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh; and Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loan.
“The benefits under the PM-USP Yojana are provided to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode,” the ministry of education said.
Also read Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu benefitted most from education loan scheme: Education ministry
PM scholarships for college students decrease
The government data also revealed that "zero" scholarships were disbursed for Mizoram in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2023-24. Number of scholarships distributed under the PM-USP scheme for college and university students in the last 5 years is given below.
Sr. No. | State / Board | FY 2019-20 (Fresh + Renewals) | FY 2020-21 (Fresh + Renewals) | FY 2021-22 (Fresh + Renewals) | FY 2022-23 (Fresh + Renewals) | FY 2023-24 (Fresh + Renewals) | FY 2024-25 (Fresh + Renewals) (as on 01-03- 2025) |
1 | Andhra Pradesh | 12,616 | 6,278 | 5,600 | 3,733 | 2,703 | 1,167 |
2 | Assam | 385 | 222 | 191 | 108 | 54 | 43 |
3 | Bihar | 2,741 | 13,427 | 14,339 | 14,502 | 22,441 | 32,938 |
4 | CBSE | 9,518 | 9,771 | 10,704 | 7,192 | 7,076 | 4,025 |
5 | Chhattisgarh | 3,302 | 2,551 | 4,150 | 3,274 | 3,271 | 1,905 |
6 | CISCE | 107 | 94 | 118 | 100 | 62 | 40 |
7 | Goa | 75 | 46 | 50 | 4 | 102 | 13 |
8 | Gujarat | 9,038 | 8,647 | 7,743 | 15,233 | 9,937 | 7,612 |
9 | Haryana | 6,900 | 9,367 | 7,578 | 7,692 | 4,997 | 1,311 |
10 | Himachal Pradesh | 630 | 598 | 994 | 767 | 2194 | 1455 |
11 | Jammu and Kashmir | 808 | 430 | 645 | 47 | 848 | 70 |
12 | Jharkhand | 0 | 21 | 2 | 37 | 4 | 15 |
13 | Karnataka | 14,132 | 9,783 | 11,894 | 13,281 | 6,847 | 12,228 |
14 | Kerala | 8,854 | 7,830 | 9,711 | 10,612 | 10,092 | 8,439 |
15 | Madhya Pradesh | 11,798 | 12,631 | 17,066 | 16,463 | 14,498 | 5,656 |
16 | Maharashtra | 13,789 | 13,710 | 16,694 | 16,684 | 14,056 | 10,158 |
17 | Manipur | 369 | 316 | 280 | 214 | 62 | 147 |
18 | Meghalaya | 123 | 69 | 56 | 30 | 43 | 6 |
19 | Mizoram | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
20 | Nagaland | 14 | 128 | 22 | 48 | 0 | 28 |
21 | Odisha | 5,664 | 7,426 | 7,285 | 5,527 | 9,170 | 4,462 |
22 | Puducherry | 109 | 210 | 171 | 104 | 260 | 37 |
23 | Punjab | 2,553 | 2,948 | 2,380 | 3,198 | 2,966 | 1,485 |
24 | Rajasthan | 5,460 | 6,121 | 9,851 | 7,038 | 12,851 | 4,541 |
25 | Tamil Nadu | 7,576 | 7,766 | 12,186 | 15,017 | 13,807 | 13,173 |
26 | Telangana | 11,204 | 9,530 | 11,271 | 8,722 | 4,459 | 4,259 |
27 | Tripura | 649 | 453 | 22 | 984 | 280 | 904 |
28 | Uttar Pradesh | 7,263 | 11,223 | 12,765 | 15,385 | 18,614 | 5,842 |
29 | Uttarakhand | 1,221 | 1,211 | 1,360 | 964 | 2,084 | 735 |
30 | West Bengal | 11,626 | 12,200 | 12,487 | 13,113 | 6,012 | 1,353 |
Total | 1,48,527 | 1,55,007 | 1,77,615 | 1,80,075 | 1,69,790 | 1,24,068 | |
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