New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has informed that 21,588 beneficiaries were enrolled under Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) during 2015-16 and an amount of Rs.543.58 crores has been released.

The UGC has also informed that total number of students who were disbursed Post Graduate (P.G.) Scholarship for Professional Courses under various schemes more than doubled in 2016-17 (Upto 30 June 2016) within two years.  In 2016-17 (Upto 30 June 2016),  total number of students who were disbursed Post Graduate (P.G.) Scholarship for Professional Courses under various schemes was 22,346 compared to 8,728 in 2014-15 and 16,433 in 2015-16. The effective use of DBT via Aadhaar linked bank accounts while disbursing scholarship amount appears to be a great success as the Ministry of HRD has made  submission of Aadhaar card is mandatory for getting Scholarships under various schemes.

The various scholarship schemes under Post Graduate (P.G.) Scholarship for Professional Courses are as followed: Post Graduate (P.G.) Scholarship for Professional Courses for SC/ST candidates; P.G.Scholarship for GATE/GPAT qualified students for pursuing M.Tech/M.E./M.Pharma; Indira Gandhi P.G. Scholarship for Single Girl Child; P.G. Scholarship for University Rank Holders; Ishan Uday Special Scholarship Scheme for North Eastern Region.

The UGC has also informed that there has been no delay in making payments. However, in some cases, there may be certain delays due to various reasons, namely: (i) late joining by candidates; (ii) delay in submission of documents to the bank branches; (iii) delay in uploading of documents; (iv) technical problems in Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today (8 August 2016) in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.