Financial Assistance to SC Students Studying in Medical, Engineering and Diploma Course for Purchasing Educational Instrument

What is the Financial Assistance to SC Students studying in Medical, Engineering and Diploma courses?

Financial Assistance to SC Students studying in Medical, Engineering and Diploma courses is a Gujarat state scheme carried in the Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare's scheme book as BCK-12. The Directorate works under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat, and the scheme's stated purpose is to help Scheduled Caste students meet the cost of the instruments, kits and equipment that a professional course demands at the very start.

The problem the scheme addresses is specific. A student who has won a seat in an MBBS, BDS, degree engineering or polytechnic diploma programme still has to buy an instrument set, a drawing kit, a lab coat, measuring instruments or a dissection box before classes begin, and that outlay lands in the same weeks as admission fees and hostel deposits. According to the Directorate's BCK-12 page, the scheme pays a one-time grant to cover this: Rs 15,000 for medical students, Rs 10,000 for degree engineering students and Rs 5,000 for diploma students.

There is one important caveat about the amount. The Government of India's myScheme portal lists an older rate set for the same scheme of Rs 10,000 for medical, Rs 8,000 for engineering and Rs 3,000 for diploma students. The Directorate's own page, which also carries a resolution dated 3 April 2025 under the scheme, shows the higher figures. Where two official sources differ, the department's own scheme page and the latest government resolution govern, and the district Deputy Director (SCW) office can confirm the rate applicable to your admission year.

Scheme at a glance

• Scheme code BCK-12, Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare, Gujarat.
• One-time grant, payable in the first year of the course only.
• Family income ceiling of Rs 6,00,000 a year.
• Online application on digitalgujarat.gov.in; payment by Direct Benefit Transfer.

Who is eligible for the BCK-12 instrument assistance?

You can claim the grant if:

• You belong to a Scheduled Caste notified for Gujarat and hold a caste certificate issued by the competent authority in Gujarat.
• You are studying in a medical, degree engineering or diploma course. The Directorate names these three streams specifically.
• You are in the first year of that course. Assistance is given in the first year only.
• Your family's annual income does not exceed Rs 6,00,000.
• You have secured admission through the regular admission process and can produce a bonafide certificate and fee receipt from the institution.
• You hold a bank account in your own name that is Aadhaar-seeded, because the grant is paid by Direct Benefit Transfer.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not belong to a Scheduled Caste of Gujarat. Students of developing castes, socially and educationally backward classes, Scheduled Tribes or the unreserved category have separate directorates and separate schemes, and cannot apply under BCK-12.
• You are in the second year or a later year of the course, or you are repeating the first year after already receiving the grant.
• Your family income is above Rs 6,00,000 a year.
• You are enrolled in a course outside the three named streams, for example a BA, BCom, BSc or an ITI trade. ITI and other professional course students are covered by a different head, BCK-13, which pays a stipend.
• You have already received the same instrument grant once.

How to apply for the scheme

1. Create or reuse a Digital Gujarat citizen account. Open digitalgujarat.gov.in, register with your mobile number and email, verify the OTP and complete the citizen profile. Students who applied for a scholarship last year should reuse the same login instead of creating a second one, as duplicate profiles cause the application to fail verification.
2. Update the profile with Aadhaar and bank details. Enter your Aadhaar number, bank account number and IFSC exactly as they appear on the passbook. A mismatch here is the single most common reason a sanctioned amount fails to credit.
3. Open the scholarship services section and select the scheme. Choose the financial year, then select the assistance for medical, engineering and diploma students under the Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare.
4. Fill the application form. Enter caste certificate number and date, income certificate number and date, institute name, course name, year of study, admission date and the previous qualifying examination marks.
5. Upload the documents. Attach the caste certificate, income certificate, bonafide or admission proof, fee receipt, previous marksheet, Aadhaar and bank passbook copy. Scans must be within the size limit shown on the upload screen and must be readable.
6. Submit and note the application number. Print or save the acknowledgement receipt.
7. Get the institute to verify. Most Digital Gujarat scholarship applications move to the institute's login for verification and then to the District Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare). Follow up with the college scholarship clerk so that the form is forwarded before the window closes.

When does the application window open?

The Directorate has not published a fixed statewide last date for this scheme. In practice the Digital Gujarat scholarship window opens each academic year once admissions are complete and is announced on the portal, with district offices issuing local notices. The safest approach is to complete your Digital Gujarat profile as soon as you take admission, so that when the window opens you only have to fill the scheme form. Late applications are not generally reopened for individual students.

How do I check the status of my application?

Log in to digitalgujarat.gov.in and open the "my applications" or application status screen; the portal shows the stage the file has reached, whether it is pending with the institute, under scrutiny at the district office, sanctioned or rejected. Once sanctioned, the amount is credited by DBT to the account entered in your profile. If the status shows "sanctioned" but nothing has been credited for several weeks, the problem is almost always in the bank details or the Aadhaar seeding, and it is corrected through the district Deputy Director (SCW) office.

Why are applications rejected, and how do you fix it?

• Not in the first year of the course. Nothing can be done here; the grant is first-year only.
• Income certificate above Rs 6 lakh or out of date. Get a fresh certificate from the Mamlatdar before the window closes.
• Caste certificate from another state. Obtain a Gujarat certificate from the competent authority.
• Institute did not forward the application. Digital Gujarat scholarship files stall at institute verification more often than at the district office. Chase the college clerk with your application number.
• Bank account in a parent's name or not Aadhaar-seeded. Open or update an account in the student's own name and complete Aadhaar seeding at the branch.
• Unreadable uploads. Rescan the document and, if the portal allows, edit and resubmit before the last date.
• Course outside the three streams. Check whether the stipend head BCK-13 for ITI and professional courses fits your case instead.

Where do I raise a grievance?

Grievances go first to the District Deputy Director (Scheduled Caste Welfare) of the district where your institution is located, in writing and quoting the application number. If the matter is not resolved there, write to the Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare, Block 4, 2nd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar, or email dir-dscw@gujarat.gov.in. The education branch of the Directorate, G-1, can be reached on 079-23253243 and the head office on 079-23253229. For problems with the Digital Gujarat portal itself, such as OTP failures or documents that will not upload, use the help desk link on digitalgujarat.gov.in rather than the district office.