Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Scholarship to benefit more students

The decision to revoke the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) for the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Scholarship (BABRF) 2019 and 2020 was taken at a recently held Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute's (BARTI) 30th Board of Governors' meeting. Information regarding the same was shared by Minister Dhananjay Munde, and it is said that the officials have decided to increase the scholarships from 107 to 200 and this will help several students pursue education as they desire. 

Earlier in 2019, the body had planned to select 106 students from top 100 universities in India, from Scheduled Caste, for BANRF-2019. This decision was taken as per the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) however, several students from other universities could not apply due to the guidelines. Students from the agricultural universities and the ones wishing to pursue M.Phil could not apply for BANRF-2019. 

Understanding the same, they expressed the concerns with the department. Students from many agricultural universities and other universities in Maharashtra discussed the same with the officials stating that their names were not included in the list as per NIRF.

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Hence, at the 30th Governors meeting held on June 21, 2021, the board decided to repeal the NIRF condition to make the scholarship available for eligible students from all the universities in India. This will also provide benefits to M.Phil students in BANRF-2019 and BANRF-2020. Students wishing to pursue PhD can apply for the scholarship. The names of eligible students will be released by compiling a joint merit list of both students from both the courses, said Director General of BARTI, Dhammajyoti Gajbhiye.

Earlier in June 2021, the state government also announced that INR 2 lakh grant will be given to SSC students from economically weaker sections. However, students must have scored 90 per cent in the SSC exams to be eligible for the same. Besides this, it is mandatory for the families to have an annual income of no more than INR 2.5 lakhs.