Post Matric Scholarship for De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities

What is the Post Matric Scholarship for de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities?

The Post Matric Scholarship for De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities is a fee-and-maintenance scholarship run by the Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department of Madhya Pradesh through its Vimukt, Ghumakkad and Ardh-Ghumakkad Jati wing. The scheme is listed by the Government of India's Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities as one of the thirteen Madhya Pradesh state schemes for these communities.

According to that listing, the scholarship provides three benefits:

1. A residence allowance.
2. Tuition fees paid.
3. Examination fees paid.

The scholarship applies from Class 11 up to college level. The DNT board's Madhya Pradesh entry records the maximum limit of fee reimbursement for Class 11 and Class 12 as Rs 210 and Rs 1,110, the second figure explained as Rs 210 towards the Department of Education component and Rs 900 towards the Board of Secondary Education examination fee. Full fee support at the post-matric stage is available where the family's annual income is up to Rs 2.50 lakh.

Madhya Pradesh treats the de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities as a separate administrative category from SC, ST and OBC. Families in these communities have historically moved with work, so children change schools mid-year, records go missing and formal income proof is often impossible to obtain. The scheme's design reflects that: the income proof accepted is a self-declaration by the parent on unstamped paper, not a tehsil-issued income certificate.

Where this scholarship sits among the department's other schemes

• Below Class 11, the department pays a separate state scholarship, Rs 150 a year for Classes 1 to 5, Rs 200 for boys and Rs 600 for girls in Classes 6 to 8, and Rs 600 for boys and Rs 1,200 for girls in Classes 9 and 10.
• A girls' literacy promotion grant of Rs 3,000 is paid on first admission to Class 11.
• A hostel scheme provides free lodging with a monthly maintenance amount.
• The Chief Minister's House Rent Scheme pays Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 a month to college students who rent accommodation, and unlike this scholarship it covers private colleges too.

Who is eligible for this post matric scholarship?

A student qualifies if:

• The student belongs to a community notified in Madhya Pradesh as Vimukt (de-notified), Ghumakkad (nomadic) or Ardh-Ghumakkad (semi-nomadic), proved by a permanent caste certificate.
• The student is studying from Class 11 up to college level.
• The course is one of the listed streams; medical, engineering and science groups, Ayurveda, Unani, homeopathy, agriculture, science and commerce, among others.
• The institution is a government institute.
• The student's family income is within Rs 2.50 lakh a year for full fee support.
• The student passed the previous academic year.

A student is not eligible if:

• The student is studying below Class 11. Those classes are covered by the department's separate state scholarship for Classes 1 to 10.
• The student is enrolled in a private institution. The DNT board's listing states that the institution must be a government institute.
• The student failed the previous year — the listing is explicit that there is no eligibility for the scholarship if one year is failed.
• The student's community is not on the Madhya Pradesh notified list of de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities. Community names and classifications differ between states, so a certificate from another state is not automatically accepted.
• The family income exceeds the ceiling.
• The student is already drawing an equivalent post-matric scholarship from another department for the same course and year. Two post-matric scholarships cannot be drawn together for the same class.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the post matric scholarship

1. Obtain a permanent caste certificate from the tehsil office showing that your community is notified in Madhya Pradesh as Vimukt, Ghumakkad or Ardh-Ghumakkad. This is the document the whole file rests on.
2. Complete Samagra e-KYC so your Samagra member ID is linked to your Aadhaar number, and open a bank account in your own name that is Aadhaar-seeded and DBT-enabled.
3. Take admission to a government institution for Class 11, Class 12 or a listed college course, within the admission deadline notified for that course.
4. Write the parent's income self-declaration on plain unstamped paper, stating the family's annual income, and have the parent sign it.
5. Collect the prescribed application form from the institution's scholarship cell or the district Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare office, fill it in, and attach the caste certificate, income declaration, admission proof, previous marksheet, Aadhaar, Samagra ID and bank passbook copy.
6. Submit the form through your institution to the district Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare office, and take a dated receiving. The institution verifies enrolment and forwards the file.
7. Follow up with the district office after four to six weeks and check your bank statement, since the maintenance component reaches you as a DBT credit rather than a portal message.

The application is free at every stage.

How is the money paid and how do I check it?

Fee components are settled against the institution's fee demand, so a student usually sees the tuition and examination fee simply not being charged, or being refunded. The residence allowance reaches the student as a Direct Benefit Transfer into the Aadhaar-seeded bank account.

To check where a file has reached:

1. Ask the institution's scholarship cell for the forwarding date and the file number.
2. Ask the district Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare office, quoting the receiving number on your acknowledgement.
3. Check your bank passbook or statement for the DBT credit.
4. If nothing has moved for two months, register a complaint on the CM Helpline (181), which issues a tracking number.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• Temporary or provisional caste certificate instead of a permanent one.
• Community not on the Madhya Pradesh notified list, or a certificate issued in another state.
• Private institution, the listing restricts the scholarship to government institutes.
• Previous year failed, which removes eligibility for that year.
• Income declaration missing the parent's signature, or stating an amount above the ceiling.
• Bank account not in the student's own name, or not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit fails after sanction.
• Application filed after the admission deadline for the course.
• Duplicate claim where the same student has drawn another post-matric scholarship for the same year.

Most rejections are documentary rather than substantive. A returned file can usually be resubmitted in the same session once the missing document is added, so ask the district office for the specific reason in writing rather than starting a fresh application.

Help and grievance redressal

• Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare Department, Bhopal: 0755-2551514, 0755-2551517
• District office: Assistant Director or District Organiser, Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare
• CM Helpline: 181, for a tracked written complaint routed to the district officer
• Department portal: bcwelfare.mp.nic.in

Scholarship rates and income ceilings for departmental schemes are revised by circular. Confirm the rate and ceiling in force for the current session with the district Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare office before you plan around the amount.