As many as 7,250 beneficiaries have availed the 'Central Sector Scheme of Free Coaching Scheme (FCS) for SC and OBC students in the last five years, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Free Coaching Scheme is launched for providing coaching to economically disadvantaged Scheduled Castes and OBC students for competitive examinations.
In all, 1,592 beneficiaries succeeded in qualifying exams for various posts or institutes during the period 2016-17 to 2020-21, Narayanaswamy said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister mentioned that there is no similar specific scheme for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students. However Grant in Aid is provided to NGOs for running health and education projects for welfare of STs.
The selection is made using the central portal and funds are released directly to the beneficiary students through DBT, he added as per a release by PIB.
