UP Govt Increases Welfare Budget For OBCs To Rs 3,124 Cr; Digital Scholarship Distribution Underway

On Friday, during a scholarship distribution ceremony organised by the Backward Classes Welfare Department at the Lok Bhavan auditorium, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will directly transfer scholarships into the accounts of over 4.83 lakh students via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

For the first time, the state government has begun distributing scholarships for the financial year 2025-26 as early as September, following the Chief Minister’s instructions. In the first phase, more than 2.5 lakh students from classes 9 to 12 belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) received scholarships worth approximately Rs 62.13 crore. The second phase, scheduled for Friday, will benefit students with an expenditure of Rs 126.68 crore.

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Speaking about the initiative, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Backward Classes Welfare and Divyangjan Empowerment, Narendra Kashyap, highlighted the state government’s vision under ‘Centenary Pledge-2047’ (Shatabdi Sankalp-2047) to create a developed Uttar Pradesh and India by empowering the youth through education. He said the aim is to ensure that no talented student is deprived of education due to financial constraints.

Kashyap emphasised that the scholarship and fee reimbursement process has been made fast, transparent, and fully digital, with funds directly credited to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, increasing efficiency and transparency.

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He also noted that the Backward Classes Welfare Department budget has increased more than 2.5 times, from Rs 1,295 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 3,124.45 crore in 2025-26. The budget for scholarship and fee reimbursement alone rose from Rs 1,092.36 crore to Rs 2,825 crore.

Significant increase in the budget of departmental schemes: