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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