This document summarizes the Indian Ministry of Minority Affairs' response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4547, answered on August 20, 2025, regarding the monitoring of financial transactions of minority educational institutions.
The Ministry acknowledges awareness of potential scholarship fraud involving 92 Madrasas in Uttarakhand, based on red flags raised on the National Scholarship Portal. The Government of Uttarakhand has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted on July 24, 2025, to investigate irregularities in scholarship schemes under the Minority Welfare Department.
To enhance transparency, the Ministry is implementing several measures within its scholarship schemes (Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, and Merit-cum-Means based Scholarships). These include mandatory Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS), and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) disbursement via the Public Financial Management System (PFMS), a web-based application developed and implemented by the Government of India. The PFMS system is used to distribute the scholarships.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Minority Affairs: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for minority affairs.
SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT: Individual posing questions to the Minister of Minority Affairs in the Lok Sabha.
Uttarakhand: A state in India where irregularities in scholarship distribution were reported in Madrasas.
Special Investigation Team SIT: A team constituted by the Government of Uttarakhand to investigate irregularities in Scholarship Schemes under the Minority Welfare Department.
National Scholarship Portal: A portal used for identifying suspicious institutes and distributing scholarships.
SHRI KIREN RIJIJU: The Minister of Minority Affairs who answered the questions in the Lok Sabha.
Aadhaar Payment Bridge System APBS: A system used to ensure transparent distribution of Scholarships through the National Scholarship Portal.
Public Financial Management System PFMS: A web-based financial management application developed and implemented by the Government of India for disbursement in Direct Benefit Transfer DBT mode.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †4547
ANSWERED ON 20/08/2025
CENTRAL PORTAL TO MONITOR FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS OF MINORITY
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
†4547. SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:
Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of incidents of receiving scholarships on the basis of fake
documents in 92 Madrasas in Uttarakhand and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted in this regard and if so, the
outcome of the investigation along with the action taken against the culprits;
(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce a corporate audit mechanism or digital verification
system to ensure transparency in the distribution of scholarships and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) whether the Government proposes to set up a central portal to monitor the financial transactions of
all minority educational institutes and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)
(a) and (b): Yes. Based on red flags raised on National Scholarship Portal, a list of suspicious institutes,
which also include Madarsas, have been identified in various States/Union Territories including the
State of Uttarakhand. In this matter, vide order dated 24.07.2025, the Government of Uttarakhand has
constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate cases pertaining to irregularities in
Scholarship Schemes under the Minority Welfare Department.
(c) and (d) : Under the Scholarship Schemes of this Ministry i.e. Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit-
cum-Means based Scholarships, Aadhaar based bio-metric authentication system is mandatory along
with Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS) to ensure transparent distribution of Scholarships
through the National Scholarship Portal. The disbursement is done in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
mode through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) which is a web-based financial
management application developed and implemented by the Government of India.
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