Civil society organisations have raised concerns over the fate of two scholarship programmes that support research studies of tribal students following a precipitous reduction in their budgetary allocations.

The Union budget for 2025-26 has slashed the combined allocation for both schemes to just ₹3 lakh, a steep fall from the ₹190 crore set aside in 2024-25.

The two programmes — the National Fellowship and Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students and the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for ST Students — are crucial financial support systems for tribal students pursuing advanced education in India and abroad.

The National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) and the National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR), both working for the rights and education of socially deprived sections, have questioned the paltry allocations for the two schemes.

In the 2024-2025 budget, the fellowship scheme was allocated ₹165 crore and later revised to ₹240 crore. In the budget for 2025-26, the government has allocated ₹2 lakh only.

The tribal affairs ministry funds this scholarship to help tribal students pursue research programmes in science, humanities, social sciences, and engineering and technology. A student gets a monthly fellowship of around ₹37,000 for five years. The scheme allows the selection of up to 750 research scholars every year.

The overseas scholarship was allocated ₹25 crore in 2024-25 and revised to ₹10 crore later. In the 2025-26 budget, the allocated amount is just ₹1 lakh. Under the overseas scholarship scheme, 20 tribal students are provided support to pursue postgraduate, PhD and post-doctoral studies abroad.

A senior official with the ministry said the schemes would get funds in the supplementary budget. He said the amount earmarked by the expenditure finance committee (EFC) of the finance ministry from 2021-22 to 2025-26 had been exhausted.

“The ministry has sought additional funds from the EFC. These are important schemes. They will continue. Additional funds will be provided in the supplementary budget,” he said.

NCDHR secretary Beena Pallical said the allocations of ₹2 lakh and ₹1 lakh for the two schemes would immediately affect the payment of scholarships to the students who have been selected under the programmes in the last three to four years.

“The scholarship schemes are meant for fresh students and also those who have been selected in the last three-four years. The students, who are studying in universities and are dependent on the scholarship amount, will not be paid their dues for the next six months,” she said.