Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme – Scholarships for Minority Students
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Posted On: 08 DEC 2022 5:43PM by PIB Delhi
Scholarships for Minority Students
The Government provides fellowship for higher education through various Schemes, including the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme, which are implemented by different Ministries/Departments. All these Schemes, except MANF, are open for candidates of all communities including minorities but the data of fellowship distributed among minority students is captured only under the MANF Scheme.
The number of beneficiaries covered under the 3 Scholarship Schemes of Ministry of Minority Affairs namely Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, Post Matric Scholarship Scheme and Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Scheme since 2012-13 is given at Annexure. The MANF Scheme was implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and as per the data provided by UGC 6722 candidates were selected under the Scheme between 2014-15 and 2021-22 and fellowships to the tune of ₹ 738.85 crore were distributed during the same period.
Since the MANF Scheme overlaps with various other fellowship Schemes for higher education being implemented by the Government and minority students are already covered under such Schemes, hence the Government has decided to discontinue the MANF Scheme from 2022-23.
This Information was given by the Minister of Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Source: PIB