OBC Scholarships – All you need to know

OBC Scholarships are awarded to students/professionals from OBC category with financial constraints to help them pursue a quality education. The government has disbursed OBC scholarships worth about INR 850 crores for the welfare of the economically weaker sections of the country and lakhs of students were able to avail these scholarships.

The OBC students are awarded these scholarships on the basis of merit and means. Mainly, there are 6 types of OBC scholarships awarded to students: National Fellowship for OBC, Central Sector Scheme of National Overseas, ONGC Scholarships, Pre-matric & Post-matric OBC scholarships and Merit Scholarships for OBC, Delhi. This article highlights every significant information related to these OBC scholarships such as application period, eligibility criteria, application process, awards and more.

OBC Scholarships – The Complete List

The following table provides information on all the types of scholarships available for OBC students in India or abroad. You can look up for scholarship that fits your requirements and apply for them within the stipulated timeline. Also, you will get to know about the number of OBC scholarship being offered by the governments.

OBC Scholarships in India & abroad

S.No.	Scholarship	Government/Private	Number of Scholarship	Tentative application period*
1.	National fellowship for OBC	Government	300	July-August
2.	Central Sector Scheme of National Overseas	Government	25	July-October
3.	Merit Scholarship for OBC Students (Delhi)	State Govt Delhi	NA	March- April
4.	Merit Scholarship for OBC students in Technical Education (Delhi)	State Govt Delhi	NA	March-April
5.	ONGC Scholarship	Non-Government	1000	September- October
6.	Pre-matric Scholarship	Every State Government	NA	September-December
7.	Post-matric Scholarship	Every State Government	NA	September-December

*subject to change

OBC Scholarships – National Fellowship for OBC

It is an initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India to financially aid OBC students and enable them to pursue higher education leading to degrees such as M.Phil. and PhD. The government provides 300 scholarships for Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and Senior Research Fellow (SRF) and the scheme covers all universities recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The JRF students can avail the fellowship for 2 years and if the research work is progressive then the students can continue as SRF for another 3 years. The scheme is also applicable to PwD students who belong to OBC category (they get 3% reservation out of 300 slots). The selected students also receive allowances such as HRA, medical and leave apart from the scholarship stipend.

OBC Scholarship- National Scholarship for OBC awards

Value of Fellowship	Faculty	Time Period (yrs.)
INR 25,000 per month (JRF) INR 28,000 per month (SRF)	Respective faculty of Science, Humanities, Social Science, Engineering and Technology	Initial 2 years Rest of the tenure
INR 10,000 per annum INR 25,000 per annum	Contingency for Humanities & Social Science	Initial 2 years Rest of the tenure
INR 12,000 per annum INR 25,000 per annum	Contingency for Science, Engineering & Technology	Initial 2 years Rest of the tenure
INR 3,000 per annum per student to the host institution	Department assistance (all subjects)
INR 2,000 per month in case of physically and visually handicapped students	Reader’s assistance (all subjects)

Eligibility

• The candidates belonging to OBC category with a family annual income of INR 6 Lakh per annum
• They should have passed the postgraduate examination and wish to pursue full-time research without JRF of UGC-NET or UGC-CSIR NET
• Transgenders are also eligible to apply

Application process

• The candidates need to visit the official website of UGC and check the link here to apply for the scholarship.
• The candidates have to fill in the application form in two parts:
• Candidates need to fill the personal information and contact details.
• Candidates need to fill the details of postgraduate qualifications, research topics, institute details, supervisor & scholarship details etc.

Note: The candidates don’t have to submit a hard copy of the application to UGC

Selection process

The selection of the candidates is based on merit-cum-means basis. UGC has its own mechanism for verifying the genuineness of the OBC candidates in order to give the scholarship to the deserving candidates.

OBC Scholarships – Central Sector Scheme for National Overseas

This scheme is for selected OBC students or professionals who wish to pursue Masters or PhD in a foreign university. The fields of study eligible under this scheme are Engineering, Management, Agricultural Science and Medicine. 30% of the scholarships are allotted to female applicants and 25 scholarships are provided per subject per year.  The PhD candidates are offered fellowship for 4 years and the master’s candidates are offered fellowship for 3 years. The scholars also get other allowance apart from the scholarship prize such as incidence journey allowance, visa fees, poll tax, medical insurance, airfare, local travel allowance and other benefits.

Eligibility

• Masters and PhD degree candidates are eligible to apply
• The candidates who have secured 60% marks in their previous course are eligible to apply for the scholarship
• Applicants must be below the age of 35 years
• The annual income should not exceed INR 3 Lakh per annum

The following table provides information on the rewards and number of scholarship to students belonging to different courses:

OBC Scholarship- Central sector scheme for national overseas awards

S.No.	Course	No. of Scholarships	Maintenance allowance US (annually)	Maintenance allowance in the UK (annually)	Research Allowance UK (annually)	Research Allowance in the US (annually)
1.	Engineering	7	USD 15,400 plus USD 1500 additional for books etc	GBP 9,900 plus GBP 1100 additional for books etc	GBP 1,560	USD 2,400
2.	Management	6
3.	Agricultural Science	6
4.	Medicine	6

Application process

• The candidates can obtain the application from Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
• Fill the form and attach the required documents and send it back to the Ministry.
• Employed candidates need to send the application through their employer and also submit the latest tax assessment and monthly salary slip form.

Selection process

The students who have already got admission in the foreign institution will be preferred. The candidates will be selected by the selection committee formed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

OBC Scholarships – Pre-matric Scholarship to OBC in India

The objective of the scheme is to motivate OBC students studying at the pre-matric stage in government schools or private schools recognized by appropriate authorities to pursue a quality education. The students receive a monthly stipend up to INR 500 per annum. The scholarship is tenable only in institutions which have been recognized by State Governments or Union Territory administration. Also, there is a 50% contribution of the Central Government in this scheme. The governments have spent INR 79 Lacs of rupees through this fellowship.

The following table provides information on the value of the scholarship award:

OBC Scholarship- Pre-matric scholarship award

Class	Value of scholarship	Time period (months)
Class I to IX	INR 100 per month	10
Class III to IX	INR 500 per month	10

Eligibility

• The scholarship is sanctioned to students whose family annual income does not exceed INR 2.5 Lakh per annum. For applicants in Delhi, the annual family income limit is INR 44,500 per annum (for even more financially weaker students).

Application process

• School should submit the application form on behalf of students before the deadline on the respective state portal.

OBC Scholarships – Post-matric scholarship to OBC in India

The aim of the scholarship is to provide financial assistance to students studying in the post-matric or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. This is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme implemented through State Government and Union territories. The scholars are paid non-refundable fees (for tuition, games, union, library etc), charges for study tours and thesis typing. The OBC candidates belonging to one state but pursuing the course in another state are awarded scholarship by competing authorities in that state.

The government has spent about INR 720 crores through this scholarship and lacs of students have been awarded with it. The following table provides information on the different groups of courses eligible for the scholarship and maintenance allowance for day scholars and hostellers individually:

OBC Scholarships- Post-matric awards

Course	Day Scholars	Hostellers
Group A- (I)                 Degree and postgraduate degree level course such as M.Phil., PhD in Medicine (II)               Commercial pilot license (III)             Postgraduate diploma course in Management and Medicine (IV)             CA/ICWA/CS etc (V)               M.Phil., PhD and postdoctoral programmes (VI)             LLM	INR 750	INR 350
Group B- (I)                 Graduate and postgraduate course in Pharmacy, Nursing etc (II)               Postgraduate courses (MA, M.Sc., M.Com)	INR 510	INR 335
Group C- All other courses such as B.A, B.Sc., B.com etc	INR 400	INR 210
Group D- All post matriculation level non-degree courses such as ITI, 3-year diploma in Polytechnics etc.	INR 260	INR 160

Eligibility

• The scholarships are available to OBC students in the state where they are permanently settled.

Application process

• The applicants can fill both online and offline application on the respective state portal.
• The applicants need to attach document such as passport size photo, a copy of certificates, diploma, degree etc, original caste certificate, income declaration certificate along with the application form according to the guidelines as prescribed by State Government.

OBC Scholarships – Merit scholarship for OBC, Delhi

The Department of the welfare of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities, Delhi offers merit-based scholarships for OBC students of class 6^th to 12^th and professionals in colleges or technical institutes. The maximum allowance for technical students is up to INR 1,620 per month and up to INR 4,500 per annum for other OBC students.

The scholarship is divided into 3 categories: pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means. We will cover the merit-cum-means category for OBC students in this section.

Eligibility

• OBC students who have secured 55% and above and are in class 6^th to 12^th
• The annual family income should not exceed INR 2 Lakh per annum
• For professionals in technical institutes or colleges need 60% marks in Class 12^th or equivalent

Application process

• The applicants need to visit the Delhi government portal website and fill the form online.
• The following documents need to be attached along with the application are caste certificate, income certificate, a copy of bank passbook, fee receipt of the academic year, Aadhar card, and passport size photo.
• There is no offline submission of the application form.

The OBC students in technical or professional institutes are not eligible for the merit-cum-means scholarship. The following table provides information on the scholarship reward to the OBC candidates:

OBC Scholarships- Merit scholarship awards

Courses	Day Scholar allowance (per annum)	Hostellers allowance (per annum)
Group A– Degree courses – Medical, Engineering, B.Sc. Agri, Forensic science etc	INR 1,620	INR 900
Group B– (I)                 Postgraduate course in a technical/professional course (II)               Diploma Level courses- Engineering, Architecture, Applied Nutrition, Printing technology etc	INR 1,860         INR 1,110	INR 960         INR 720
Group C– (I)                 Certificate course – Engineering and architecture (II)               Medicine diploma courses- Agriculture/Veterinary Science, Dairy, Fishery, public health etc (III)             Degree or postgraduate diploma or postgraduate courses- Music, Fine Arts, Law, etc Group D– (I)                 General course to undergraduate level (II)               Postgraduate course in arts and commerce	INR 930               INR 804   INR 930	INR 630               INR 420   INR 630

OBC Scholarships – ONGC scholarship

Oil and Gas Corporate Limited (ONGC) offers 1000 scholarships to OBC and economically backward general students who are in their first year of graduation or post graduation course. The students are awarded maintenance allowance of INR 4,000 per month.

OBC Scholarship- Scholarship duration

Courses	Duration
Graduate in Engineering	4
MBBS	4
Master in Geology/Geophysics	2
MBA	2

Eligibility

• The students pursuing 1^st year in the above courses
• The candidates should have secured 60% marks in class 12^th
• The annual family income of the candidates should be less than INR 2 Lakh per annum
• The students who are pursuing the above courses which are recognized by AICTE
• Age limit is 30 years

Application process

• The application can be found online on the website of ONGC (ongcindia.com)
• The applicants need to register and fill the form and attach the required documents such as caste certificate, income certificate, mark sheet of qualifying certificate, Aadhar card, PAN card, CGPA to percentage conversion certificate, ECS mandatory form duly filled by bank
• Submit the form online

Selection process

• The students are selected based on the merit in the qualifying examination prescribed according to each course of the study mentioned above.
• There is also a special preference for students from families below the poverty line.