SC and ST schemes for young Indians: education, business, and employment programmes

Pre-matric and post-matric scholarships, the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) for term loans, and Stand-Up India for entrepreneurship are the three largest national-level programmes for SC and ST youth. State governments run parallel coaching, hostel, and stipend programmes.

YouthPower tracks 523 schemes in this category, of which 64 are central government programmes and 459 are state government programmes.

What to look for when applying

Caste certificate from the competent authority is mandatory. Income ceilings apply for most scholarship programmes — usually 2.5 lakh to 8 lakh rupees per year, depending on the scheme. Application windows are time-bound and announced annually.

Named examples

• Agriculture And Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme Of APEDA For The 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 To 2025-26)
• Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM)
• Bank Guarantee Charges Reimbursement Scheme
• Bank Loan Processing Fee Reimbursement Scheme
• CIFE - Institutional Fellowship
• Central Sector Scheme of National Fellowship for Providing Fellowship to Scheduled Caste Students to Pursue M.Phil. & PhD
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Upgradation of Merit of Scheduled Caste Students
• Centrally-Sponsored Scheme Of Pre-Matric Scholarship For Scheduled Caste Students Studying In Classes 9th & 10th
• Coaching Schemes For Sc/st/obc (non-creamy Layer) & Minority Students For Universities
• Credit Based Schemes For SC - Term Loan (TL)
• Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme For The Scheduled Castes
• Education Loan Scheme

The most active ministries in this category are Ministry Of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Education, Ministry Of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry Of Tribal Affairs, Ministry Of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

States with the highest number of dedicated state-government schemes in this category are Gujarat, All, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu.

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