Scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC Students Studying in India, Haryana

What is the Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC students in Haryana?

Scheme of Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC Students Studying in India is a centrally sponsored scholarship that Haryana implements through the Directorate of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, part of the SEWA Department (Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes and Antyodaya). The department lists it among its centrally sponsored schemes alongside the pre-matric scholarships for Scheduled Caste students and for children of those in unclean occupations.

The scholarship exists to keep Backward Class children in school through the years where drop-out is highest, the transition from middle school into the board classes. In Haryana the official term is Backward Classes (BC), notified in Block A and Block B lists, and the department uses "OBC" and "BC" interchangeably in scheme names.

At the national level, the Government of India merged the pre-matric scholarships for OBC, Economically Backward Classes (EBC) and Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNT) students into a single umbrella called PM-YASASVI. The Pradhan Mantri Young Achievers' Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India. Under the PM-YASASVI pre-matric component, students in Classes 9 and 10 from families with annual income up to Rs 2.50 lakh receive Rs 4,000 per year.

Haryana's departmental page carries the scheme regulations as a downloadable PDF rather than an on-page rate table, so the figure applicable to a given academic year should always be read from that year's notification. What is stable across years is the structure: a school-stage scholarship, an income ceiling of Rs 2.50 lakh, and a caste condition tied to Haryana's Backward Classes list.

Who is eligible for the OBC pre-matric scholarship?

Your child can claim the scholarship if:

• The student belongs to a Backward Class notified for Haryana, with a BC or OBC certificate issued by the Tehsildar in the student's own name.
• The student is a domicile of Haryana with a residence certificate.
• Parents' or guardian's annual income is Rs 2.50 lakh or less, counting all household sources.
• The student is a regular full-time student in a recognised school in the class covered by the current notification, Classes 9 and 10 under the PM-YASASVI pre-matric component.
• The student was promoted to that class in the previous academic year.
• The student has an Aadhaar-seeded bank account, or a guardian-operated minor account.

Your child is not eligible if:

• The BC certificate is from another state, or the family falls in the creamy layer and therefore does not hold a valid benefit certificate.
• Household income exceeds Rs 2.50 lakh a year. Applicants often submit the father's salary alone; the certificate must reflect total family income.
• The student is in a class outside the notified range for the year — a Class 11 or 12 student must apply under the post-matric scheme instead.
• The student is not a regular full-time student, for example enrolled privately or through open schooling where the guidelines require regular study.
• The student is already sanctioned another pre-matric scholarship for the same academic year from any government source. Only one pre-matric scholarship per student per year is permitted.
• The student failed and is repeating the same class, for the repeated year.

There is a practical point worth naming: a family already receiving the pre-matric scholarship for children of those in unclean occupations cannot also draw this one for the same child in the same year, because that is a duplicate pre-matric claim.

How much money does the scholarship pay?

Under the current PM-YASASVI pre-matric component the award is Rs 4,000 per year for eligible OBC, EBC and DNT students in Classes 9 and 10, for families with annual income up to Rs 2.50 lakh.

Haryana applies the Government of India rate table in force for the academic year rather than setting its own amounts. Where earlier versions of the OBC pre-matric scheme extended to lower classes, the benefit was smaller and typically split between a monthly scholarship for the ten months of the academic session and an ad-hoc annual grant for books and stationery, with a higher rate for hostellers than day scholars.

Because the amounts have been revised more than once and because the covered class range has changed with the PM-YASASVI reorganisation, take the figure for your year from the notification published by the Directorate of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes for that year, not from a general reference.

The scholarship is paid by Direct Benefit Transfer into an Aadhaar-seeded account. For a school-age student that is normally a minor account operated by a parent or guardian. Nothing in this scheme is paid in cash through the school.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the OBC pre-matric scholarship in Haryana

1. Check the current notification issued by the Directorate of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, which names the portal, the covered classes and the last date for the academic year. Do not start until you know which scheme name the year's applications are being taken under, the older OBC pre-matric scheme or PM-YASASVI.
2. Obtain the Haryana Backward Class certificate for the student from the Tehsildar, and a fresh income certificate for the current financial year showing household income of Rs 2.50 lakh or less.
3. Open or verify an Aadhaar-seeded bank account in the student's name, or a minor account operated by a parent, and confirm at the branch that it is DBT-enabled.
4. Register on the notified portal. PM-YASASVI pre-matric applications are filed on the National Scholarship Portal at scholarships.gov.in, where the student completes a One-Time Registration and receives an application ID. Haryana-routed applications go through the portal named in the state notification, with Parivar Pehchan Patra login.
5. Fill the application form with personal, caste, income, school and bank details, and upload clear scans of the BC certificate, income certificate, Aadhaar, residence certificate, bonafide certificate and bank passbook.
6. Submit and save the application ID, then print the acknowledgement.
7. Get the school to verify the application. The school's Institute Nodal Officer must confirm enrolment and forward it; an application left unverified at the school is never sanctioned.
8. Track the status on the portal and watch the bank passbook for the DBT credit.

Renew the same way in the following academic year, adding the previous class marksheet as proof of promotion.

How do I check my scholarship status?

• Log in to the portal with your application ID or registered credentials and open the status screen.
• Ask the school's Institute Nodal Officer whether verification has been completed: most stalled applications are waiting at the school stage.
• Contact the District Welfare Officer of your district for applications pending after school verification.
• Check the bank statement, since DBT credits arrive without a separate intimation.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix it

• BC certificate from another state or expired. Obtain a Haryana certificate from your Tehsildar under the state's Backward Classes list.
• Income certificate above Rs 2.50 lakh or issued for an earlier financial year. Get a fresh one before applying.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit reverses. Complete seeding at the branch.
• Name mismatch across Aadhaar, the school record, the caste certificate and the bank account. Correct Aadhaar first, then align the rest.
• School missed the verification window. Submit in the first weeks of the window and confirm verification in person.
• Wrong class claimed, a student outside the notified class range should apply under the pre-matric SC scheme, the unclean-occupations scheme or the post-matric scheme, whichever fits.
• Duplicate pre-matric claim for the same student in the same year.

Key dates to plan around

• The application window is announced fresh each academic year, usually within the first months of the session, and closes well before the board examinations.
• School verification always closes after the student submission date, so early submission is the only reliable protection.
• No published disbursal calendar. Payments are released in batches once verified lists reach the directorate.
• Renewal is annual, not automatic; a missed year cannot usually be claimed retrospectively.

Where do I get help or complain?

• Directorate of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, Bays No. 53-54, Kalyan Bhawan, Sector 2, Panchkula-134109, telephone 0172-2564006 and 0172-2567009, email dbcharyana[at]gmail[dot]com.
• Haryana Backward Classes Commission, SCO No. 20-27, 2nd Floor, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh, telephone 0172-2710026, for grievances about BC certificates and benefits.
• School Institute Nodal Officer, for verification problems.
• District Welfare Officer, for sanction-stage delays.
• CM Window, Haryana's state grievance platform, for escalation.

Applying is free. No school staff member, cyber cafe or agent may charge a fee to file this scholarship application, and no government officer will ask for your bank password or OTP.