Top Class Education Scholarship for SC Students Statistics: Slots, Institutes and Spending
· 2 min read · 3 official sources
The Top Class Education scholarship for SC students had 4,500 slots across 274 notified institutions in 2025-26, according to the Social Justice Ministry annual report. The ministry spent Rs 103.26 crore on the scheme in 2024-25, up from Rs 83.84 crore the year before. Year-wise budget and spending figures are below.
Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC Students: key numbers
Infographic
Budget and spending on the Top Class scholarship for SC students
Revised estimate and total expenditure by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in each financial year, in Rs crore.
| Financial year | Revised estimate (Rs crore) | Expenditure (Rs crore) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 70.00 | 84.72 |
| 2022-23 | 108.00 | 85.67 |
| 2023-24 | 100.00 | 83.84 |
| 2024-25 | 103.00 | 103.26 |
Source: socialjustice.gov.in, as on 31 March 2025
How the Top Class scholarship reaches a student
What the numbers show
The Top Class Education scholarship is part of the SHREYAS-SC umbrella of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It pays the full cost of study for SC students who get into institutions of excellence notified by the ministry.
According to the ministry's annual report for 2025-26, the scheme now has 4,500 slots, up from 4,400, spread across 274 notified institutions. Thirty per cent of the slots at each institution are kept for SC girl students.
Spending over the years
Spending was flat for three years, at Rs 84.72 crore in 2021-22, Rs 85.67 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 83.84 crore in 2023-24. It rose to Rs 103.26 crore in 2024-25, close to the revised estimate of Rs 103 crore for that year. In 2022-23 and 2023-24 the ministry spent well below its revised estimates of Rs 108 crore and Rs 100 crore. In 2021-22 it spent more than the revised estimate of Rs 70 crore.
The budget estimate for 2025-26 is Rs 110 crore. By 31 December 2025, Rs 43.78 crore had been spent, according to the scheme table in the annual report.
Who can apply
The student must be from a Scheduled Caste, with total family income of up to Rs 8 lakh a year, and must have taken admission in a full-time course at a notified institution. No more than two siblings from a family can get the benefit. The scholarship pays full tuition and non refundable charges, capped at Rs 2 lakh a year at private institutions, and an academic allowance of Rs 86,000 in the first year and Rs 41,000 in each later year for living costs, books and a laptop.
What the figures do not tell you
The annual report gives slots, institutions and money spent, but not the number of students who actually received the scholarship each year. Since renewals for students in later years also come out of the same budget, the spending figure cannot be read as a count of new scholars.
Where to check
The ministry publishes the scheme details and the list of notified institutions on its website, and applications are made through the National Scholarship Portal.
Frequently asked questions
How many Top Class scholarships are there for SC students?
The number of slots was raised from 4,400 to 4,500 during 2025-26, according to the Social Justice Ministry annual report for 2025-26.
How many institutions are covered?
The number of notified institutions was increased to 274 during 2025-26. Students must take admission in one of these to be eligible.
How much does the government spend on this scholarship?
The ministry spent Rs 103.26 crore in 2024-25, Rs 83.84 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 85.67 crore in 2022-23. The budget estimate for 2025-26 is Rs 110 crore.
How much had been spent in 2025-26 so far?
The annual report table shows expenditure of Rs 43.78 crore as on 31 December 2025, against the budget of Rs 110 crore. A different table in the same report puts it at Rs 43.98 crore.
What does the scholarship pay?
It covers full tuition and non refundable fees, capped at Rs 2 lakh a year at private institutions, plus an academic allowance of Rs 86,000 in the first year and Rs 41,000 in later years.
Eligibility, documents and how to apply: Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC Students full guide
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Sources
This guide was checked against these official pages:
- socialjustice.gov.in (socialjustice.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/71441776233188.pdf)
- socialjustice.gov.in (socialjustice.gov.in/schemes/27)
- scholarships.gov.in (scholarships.gov.in/)