**Executive Summary**
This document provides information related to the Starred Question No. 263 in the Lok Sabha regarding the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) scheme for tribal students aspiring to study abroad. The document details the financial assistance available, funds allocated and disbursed, beneficiaries since 2015, and the status of the scheme as of December 18, 2025. The NOS Scheme aims to provide financial aid to eligible ST students for higher studies abroad.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **National Overseas Scholarship (NOS) Scheme:**
* Implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
* Provides financial assistance to 20 eligible Scheduled Tribe students annually.
* For Master's, Ph.D., and Post-Doctoral courses abroad.
* Eligibility: Annual parental income less than Rs 6 lakhs.
* Covers fees, visa fees, maintenance allowance, medical insurance, and air passage.
* Detailed guidelines available online.
* **Funds Allocation and Disbursement (2015-2025):**
* Lists the funds allocated and disbursed under the NOS scheme for each year from 2015-16 to 2024-25 (figures provided in crores).
* **Beneficiaries:**
* Details regarding the number of beneficiaries under the NOS scheme for ST students are listed for each state from 2015-2026.
* **Status of NOS Scheme:**
* The NOS Scheme has not been stopped or reduced in its extent of benefits since 2015.
* **Payments:**
* All payments are made directly by the Indian Mission/Embassy abroad to awardees and universities.
* Ministry of External Affairs submits vouchers for reimbursement.
* No individual payments are pending with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Tribal Students**
* **Impact:** Provides opportunities for higher education abroad via financial assistance.
* **Action Required:** Check eligibility criteria, adhere to scheme guidelines, and apply through the appropriate channels.
**Stakeholder: Ministry of Tribal Affairs**
* **Impact:** Responsible for implementing and overseeing the NOS scheme.
* **Action Required:** Continue to administer the scheme, allocate and disburse funds, and reimburse the Ministry of External Affairs for payments made.
**Stakeholder: Ministry of External Affairs**
* **Impact:** Responsible for making payments to awardees and universities through Indian Missions/Embassies abroad.
* **Action Required:** Process payments, submit vouchers to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for reimbursement.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Tribal Affairs: The primary ministry responsible for the National Overseas Scholarship scheme.
National Overseas Scholarship (NOS): A Central Sector scholarship scheme to provide financial assistance to Scheduled Tribe students for pursuing higher studies abroad.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION No. 263
TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2025
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS ASPIRING TO STUDY ABROAD
*263. Shri Joyanta Basumatary:
Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: -
(a) the details regarding the financial assistance schemes and scholarships available for tribal students in the
country aspiring to study abroad;
(b) the details regarding the funds allocated, disbursed and pending under each scheme;
(c) the details regarding the number of beneficiaries under each scheme, State-wise and year- wise since 2015;
(d) whether any such scheme or scholarship has been stopped or reduced its extent of benefits since 2015, if so,
the details thereof including the extent of reduction in the benefits and the reasons therefor; and
(e) whether any payment of such financial assistance or scholarship is pending to any student, if so, the details
thereof including the name of the scheme, amount pending and the number of unpaid beneficiaries, State-wise
and the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI JUAL ORAM)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED
QUESTION NO. 263 FOR 18.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI JOYANTA BASUMATARY, HON’BLE
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS ASPIRING
TO STUDY ABROAD
(a) The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements one Central Sector scholarship scheme namely National Overseas
Scholarship (NOS) to provide financial assistance to twenty (20) eligible Scheduled Tribe students for pursuing
higher studies abroad, for Master’s, Ph.D., and Post-Doctoral courses. Eligible candidates whose annual parental
income is less than Rs 6 lakhs are provided with financial assistance which covers fees of the institute, Visa fees,
annual maintenance allowance, medical insurance, air passage grant on actual basis from India to the nearest
place to the educational institution and back to India by economy class etc. The detailed scheme guidelines are
available at https://tribal.nic.in/downloads/guidelines/NOS/RevisedGuidelinesNOS07102022.pdf
(b) The details regarding the Budget allocation and expenditure disbursement under the NOS scheme is tabulated
below: -
Total funds allocated and disbursed under NOS during last 10 years
(Rs. in crore)
S. No. Year Funds allocated (R.E) Funds disbursed
1 2015-16 0.72 0.39
2 2016-17 0.39 0.39
3 2017-18 1.00 1.00
4 2018-19 2.00 2.00
5 2019-20 2.00 2.00
6 2020-21 4.76 4.76
7 2021-22 4.95 4.95
8 2022-23 4.00 4.00
9 2023-24 7.00 7.00
10 2024-25 6.00 6.00
(c) The details regarding the number of beneficiaries under National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for ST
students, state-wise and year-wise since 2015 is given at Annexure- I.
(d) No, Sir. NOS Scheme has neither been stopped nor has any reduction made in its extent of benefits since
2015.
(e) Under NOS Scheme, all admissible payments to the awardees and the concerned foreign universities are made
directly by the respective Indian Mission/Embassy abroad. After making such payments, the Ministry of External
Affairs submits vouchers to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for reimbursement. The Ministry reimburses MEA as
per the vouchers received. Hence, no individual payments to beneficiaries remain pending with the Ministry of
Tribal Affairs.Annexure-I
Annexure to be referred in respect to the part (c) of the reply of the Lok Sabha Starred Question no. 263 for 18.12.2025 regarding “Scholarships for Tribal
Students Aspiring to Study Abroad "
State Name 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
Andhra Pradesh 2 2 1 3
Arunachal Pradesh 2 2 2 1 1
ASSAM 2 2 1 1 2
Chhattisgarh 1 1 1 1
Goa 1 1 2
Gujarat 1 1
Himachal Pradesh 1
Jammu and Kashmir 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Jharkhand 2 2 3 1 1 1 1
Karnataka 1 1 1 1 1 2
Ladakh 2 1 1 1 1
Madhya Pradesh 1 1
Maharashtra 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 1
Manipur 2 2 4 3 5 5 5 5 4 6 6
Meghalaya 1 2 1 2 1
Mizoram 2 1 2 2 1 2 2
Nagaland 1 2 1 1 2 1 3
Odisha 1 1 1 1 1 1
Rajasthan 1 2 2 1 1 1
Sikkim 1
Tamil Nadu 1 1
Telangana 3 1 2 2 3 3 1 3 6 4
Tripura 1 1 1 0
Uttarakhand 1
West Bengal 1 1 1 1
Total 15 16 20 20 20 20 17 18 20 23* 22**
*Three slots were carried forward from selection year 2021-22
** Two slots were carried forward from selection year 2022-23
*****