Award of Stipend to VJNT and SBC Students Studying in ITI

What is the Award of Stipend to VJNT and SBC Students Studying in ITI?

Award of Stipend to VJNT and SBC Students Studying in ITI is a small educational-support scheme of the Government of Maharashtra for trainees of Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribe (VJNT) and Special Backward Class (SBC) communities enrolled at approved Industrial Training Institutes. The scheme is administered through the Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department, in Marathi, Itar Magas Bahujan Kalyan Vibhag, which handles VJNT, OBC and SBC welfare in Maharashtra, and which was carved out of the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department. Older documentation and the myScheme listing still attribute the scheme to the Social Justice Department.

Award of Stipend to VJNT and SBC Students Studying in ITI exists for one stated purpose: to motivate students of these categories to take up technical training rather than drop out after school. A trainee receives Rs 40 to Rs 100 per month for 10 months, paid through the ITI where they are enrolled.

The amount is deliberately modest. This is a pocket-expense stipend meant to cover travel, notebooks and small tool costs during training — it is not a maintenance grant and it does not cover fees. Students needing fee support should look at the department's separate Vocational Training Fee Reimbursement scheme, and hostel students at the maintenance allowance schemes.

How much is paid, and how does the rate work?

The published rate band is Rs 40 to Rs 100 per month for 10 months, so the maximum an individual trainee receives is Rs 1,000 in an academic year.

The reason for a band rather than a single figure is the split funding used in the parallel Scheduled Caste ITI stipend, which the Social Justice Department publishes in detail. Under that scheme, according to the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department:

• A hostel resident trainee receives Rs 60 from the Department of Technical Education plus Rs 40 from the Social Welfare Department, totalling Rs 100 a month.
• A non-hostel trainee receives the full Rs 100 a month from the Social Welfare Department.

The VJNT and SBC stipend follows the same design and the same income ceiling of Rs 65,290, which is why the published range for it is Rs 40 to Rs 100. Ask your ITI Principal which slab applies to you, because the answer depends on whether you are in the hostel.

Payment is for 10 months, not 12, since the stipend is tied to the training months of the academic year.

Who is eligible for this ITI stipend?

You can apply if:

• You belong to a notified Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribe or Special Backward Class community in Maharashtra and hold a valid caste certificate.
• You are a trainee at an approved Industrial Training Institute. The institute and the trade must be recognised.
• Your parent's or guardian's annual income does not exceed Rs 65,290.
• You are a resident of Maharashtra.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the payment.

You cannot apply or are not eligible if:

• You belong to a category outside VJNT and SBC. Scheduled Caste trainees are covered by the Social Justice Department's own ITI stipend, and OBC trainees by other schemes of the same department, so the correct scheme depends on your certificate.
• Your parent's annual income is above Rs 65,290.
• Your institute or trade is not an approved ITI. Private coaching centres and unrecognised skill courses do not qualify.
• You are not a Maharashtra resident.
• You have already left or been struck off the ITI rolls. The stipend runs only while you are an active trainee, and irregular attendance can stop it.

What documents are required?

Caste and income certificates are issued by the Tehsildar or Sub-Divisional Officer, applied for through a Setu or Aaple Sarkar service centre. Both take time, so start them at the point of ITI admission rather than after the form is issued.

How to apply for the VJNT and SBC ITI stipend

The application is offline and routed entirely through your own ITI. There is no self-service online form for this particular stipend.

1. Take admission to an approved Industrial Training Institute in an approved trade, and get your admission confirmed on the rolls.
2. Ask the Principal's office for the stipend application form for VJNT and SBC trainees. The ITI issues it after admissions close for the year.
3. Obtain the caste certificate and the parent's income certificate from the Tehsildar's office, ensuring the income certificate shows an annual figure within Rs 65,290.
4. Fill the form completely and attach the caste certificate, income certificate, bonafide certificate, Aadhaar, bank passbook copy and domicile proof.
5. Submit the form to your ITI and take a dated acknowledgement from the office.
6. Let the ITI forward the consolidated list to the district office of the Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department, which sanctions the stipend.
7. Check your bank account once sanctions are released, and confirm with the Principal's office which months have been paid.

How to check whether your stipend has been sanctioned

There is no public online status tracker for this scheme. Status is checked at the Principal's office of your ITI, which holds the forwarded list and the sanction communication, quoting the acknowledgement you were given. If the ITI says the file has gone to the district, follow up with the Assistant Director, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare in your district.

Why stipend claims fail, and how to fix each one

• Income certificate above Rs 65,290 or issued for an earlier year. Get a fresh certificate for the current year.
• Caste certificate does not name a notified VJNT or SBC community. A general backward class certificate is not enough.
• Bank account not in the trainee's own name, or not Aadhaar-seeded, so the credit fails.
• Form submitted after the ITI's internal cut-off. Because the ITI compiles one consolidated list, a late form usually waits for the next cycle.
• Attendance shortfall or name struck off the rolls, which ends the claim for the remaining months.
• Wrong scheme applied for. An SC trainee applying under the VJNT and SBC head, or the reverse. Match the scheme to the caste certificate.

Where to complain or get help

• Principal of your ITI, the first and most effective point of contact, since the ITI both issues and forwards the application.
• Assistant Director, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare, in your district, for sanction and payment grievances.
• Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department, Government of Maharashtra, at obcbahujankalyan.maharashtra.gov.in, which lists the department's VJNT and SBC schemes.
• Tehsildar or Aaple Sarkar centre for caste and income certificates.

The form and the process are free. No fee is payable to anyone for the application, and the stipend is credited only to the trainee's own account.