Parliament Question: Beneficiaries Selected under INSPIRE SHE

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4056 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2026 BENEFICIARIES SELECTED UNDER INSPIRE SHE 4056. SHRI ANTO ANTONY: Will the Minister of Science and Technology be pleased to state: (a) the details and the number of applications received, students selected and scholarships awarded under Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research Scholarship for Higher Education (INSPIRE SHE) since 2019-20, year and State/UT-wise; (b) whether the annual target of awarding 12,000 scholarships under INSPIRE SHE has been achieved each year-wise since 2019-20 and if so, the details thereof, and if not, the reasons for the shortfall; (c) the details of funds allocated, released and utilised under INSPIRE SHE since 2019-20, year-wise; (d) the gender-wise and rural-urban details of beneficiaries selected under INSPIRE SHE since 2019-20; and (e) whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of INSPIRE SHE in increasing the rate of talented youth entering higher education and research careers in basic and natural sciences? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH) (a) to (b): The annual target for awarding scholarships under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research - Scholarship for Higher Education (INSPIRE–SHE) Scheme, including both the Direct Mode and the Institution Mode, has been achieved. Scholarships under the Scheme are awarded strictly to eligible candidates as per the approved provisions and selection criteria. The year-wise and State/UT-wise details of applications received, students selected and scholarships awarded under INSPIRE-SHE since 2019-20 are given below: State/UT Total number of students Total Applications received selected/scholarships awarded 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 20 21 22 23 24 25 20 21 22 23 24 25 Andaman 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 and Nicobar Andhra 160 55 49 35 40 14 95 25 18 18 32 0 Pradesh Page 1 of 3State/UT Total number of students Total Applications received selected/scholarships awarded 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 2019- 2020- 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 20 21 22 23 24 25 20 21 22 23 24 25 Arunachal 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pradesh Assam 114 123 240 145 176 98 64 45 115 75 73 31 Bihar 686 945 345 289 299 655 433 292 154 165 165 257 Chandigarh 12 5 6 11 5 8 8 0 2 5 1 2 Chhattisgarh 249 296 373 503 610 494 172 132 273 345 420 300 Dadra Nagar 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 Haveli Delhi 195 201 134 116 108 96 119 41 50 46 51 41 Goa 6 3 3 1 6 1 5 1 2 1 5 1 Gujarat 267 273 234 124 121 54 173 116 192 78 79 26 Haryana 286 755 760 219 111 130 149 154 321 78 49 48 Himachal 357 450 339 248 219 174 237 219 257 170 137 94 Pradesh Jharkhand 49 80 47 69 54 36 23 20 22 24 23 10 Jammu & 23 53 48 81 15 5 11 11 24 37 2 2 Kashmir Karnataka 117 191 223 104 104 117 50 42 53 36 30 9 Kerala 977 1737 1807 1180 1043 893 525 299 731 410 365 158 Ladakh 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Madhya 821 1328 1047 743 811 1289 617 655 699 513 583 755 Pradesh Maharashtra 685 822 1092 506 370 164 463 379 443 332 234 53 Manipur 171 197 178 154 194 151 116 111 172 118 138 93 Meghalaya 6 14 86 54 62 37 4 6 69 38 49 22 Mizoram 3 1 2 6 17 5 3 1 2 0 13 3 Nagaland 26 31 29 14 14 13 20 19 23 9 9 7 Odisha 301 229 409 228 192 434 99 84 93 121 108 151 Punjab 178 251 163 174 126 164 106 71 83 95 72 74 Puducherry 1 3 3 1 6 2 1 0 2 1 2 0 Rajasthan 4154 5090 2350 3703 3890 4384 2937 2756 1197 2777 2869 2430 Sikkim 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tamil Nadu 34 105 118 40 36 43 18 22 26 19 19 14 Telangana 110 168 102 25 78 55 52 41 38 6 27 17 Tripura 4 2 5 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 Uttar 4111 7327 7460 5417 8505 10808 2579 3580 4217 3846 5372 6165 Pradesh Uttarakhand 723 792 938 492 601 532 487 402 740 366 410 291 West Bengal 1956 2933 1495 2294 627 535 1196 934 839 810 367 239 Total 16782 24467 20087 16979 18443 21392 10764 10461 10859 10539 11705 11294 Page 2 of 3(c) The details of funds allocated, released and utilised under INSPIRE SHE since 2019-20, year-wise is given below: Total Amount Financial Year allocated/released/utilized (Rs. in Cr.) 2019-20 228.12 2020-21 238.64 2021-22 220.63 2022-23 233.02 2023-24 212.19 2024-25 213.86 2025-26 232.17 (d) The gender-wise and rural-urban details of beneficiaries selected under INSPIRE SHE since 2019-20 are given below: Gender-wise details Students Financial Year Male Female Selected 2019-20 10764 5885 4879 2020-21 10461 5514 4947 2021-22 10859 4952 5907 2022-23 10539 4905 5634 2023-24 11705 5193 6512 2024-25 11294 4799 6495 Rural-urban details Students Financial Year Rural Urban Selected 2019-20 10764 7400 3364 2020-21 10461 7284 3177 2021-22 10859 7633 3226 2022-23 10539 7878 2661 2023-24 11705 7760 3945 2024-25 11294 6004 5290 (e) The Government regularly reviews the implementation and outcomes of the INSPIRE-SHE scheme. ***** Page 3 of 3