Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana (Rajasthan)

What is Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana?

Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana is a Rajasthan cash award for girl students who stand first in their district in a board examination. The School Education Department of the Government of Rajasthan runs it through the Balika Shiksha Foundation, the state body set up to promote girls' education. The award is one-time, paid directly into the student's bank account, and is conditional on the student continuing to the next level of study.

The award ladder rises with the class:

The structure is deliberate. Class 8 and Class 10 are the two points at which girls in Rajasthan have historically been most likely to drop out, the first when a village school ends and the nearest upper primary or secondary school is further away, the second when families weigh the cost of continuing against marriage. Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana attaches a visible cash reward and a public ceremony to crossing each of those thresholds at the top of the district.

The scheme has a naming history worth knowing, because it causes real confusion in searches. Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana was the original name. In 2019 it was renamed Indira Priyadarshini Puraskar Yojana. In 2024 the original name Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana was restored. Both names refer to the same district-topper award for girl students, and older documents, school circulars and news reports may use either.

Main features

• One-time cash award of Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 or Rs 75,000 by class.
• Girl students only, open to all categories.
• Selection by district rank in the board examination.
• No application form: District Education Officers compile the lists.
• Award conditional on enrolling in the next level of education.
• Awards presented annually on Basant Panchami.

Who is eligible for the Padmakshi Puraskar?

A student qualifies if:

• She is a girl student, the award is exclusively for girls.
• She is a permanent resident of Rajasthan.
• She has stood first in her district in the Class 8, Class 10 or Class 12 board examination. For Sanskrit board examinations the rank is taken at the state level rather than the district level.
• She enrols in the next level of education after the qualifying examination.
• She belongs to any category, BPL, SC, ST, OBC, minority, general or a student with a disability. No category quota restricts the award.

A student is not eligible if:

• She is not a girl student. Boys cannot apply under any category.
• She is not a permanent resident of Rajasthan, even if she studied in a Rajasthan school.
• She did not stand first in her district in the qualifying examination. A second or third rank does not attract this award, however small the margin.
• She discontinued her studies after the qualifying examination. The continuation condition is checked before the award is released.
• She topped in a class other than 8, 10 or 12. There is no award for Class 9 or Class 11 results.

Because selection is by rank rather than by need, there is no income ceiling on this award. A district topper from a well-off family and one from a BPL household are treated identically.

How to apply for the Padmakshi Puraskar (and why there is no form)

Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana has no student application form. Selection is made from official board result data, so the steps below describe the real route the award travels rather than a form you fill.

1. Appear for and top the board examination. The qualifying step is standing first among girl students in your district in the Class 8, Class 10 or Class 12 board examination, or first in the state for a Sanskrit board examination. There is no form to fill at this stage.
2. Let the District Education Officer compile the list. After the board results, the District Education Officer (DEO) identifies the district topper girl students and prepares the merit list from official result data.
3. Districts submit their lists by 15 August each year to the state, where the Balika Shiksha Foundation verifies them.
4. Provide your documents when the school asks. The school or the DEO office will collect your residence certificate, Aadhaar, marksheet, proof of enrolment in the next class, a photograph and your Aadhaar-seeded bank account details.
5. Attend the award ceremony, held annually on Basant Panchami, where the award is formally conferred.
6. Receive the amount by DBT into the bank account in your own name.

What documents are required?

Why an award can be delayed or withheld

• Enrolment in the next class not proved. The continuation condition is real, and the award is held until the school or college confirms admission.
• Bank account not in the student's own name, or not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit cannot be made. A minor's account operated with a guardian is acceptable; an account in a parent's name alone is not.
• Name mismatch between the marksheet, Aadhaar and the bank record, very common where the marksheet carries a shortened or differently spelled name.
• Student missing from the district list because the DEO office worked from incomplete result data. This is the case to raise directly with the DEO office with a copy of the marksheet, as soon as the district list is prepared.
• Residence certificate not produced, particularly for students who studied in Rajasthan but hold domicile elsewhere.

Where to raise a query

• District Education Officer (DEO) of your district. The single most useful contact, because the DEO office prepares and submits the merit list on which the entire award depends.
• Your school principal, who forwards student documents to the DEO and can confirm whether your name went into the district list.
• Balika Shiksha Foundation, the implementing body under the School Education Department, reachable through the department at education.rajasthan.gov.in.
• Rajasthan Sampark on 181 or sampark.rajasthan.gov.in, for a written grievance with a tracking number if a verified award is not released.

There is no application fee and no form to buy. No agent can get a name added to a district merit list, and no official will ask a student or parent for an OTP or a bank password.

A note on what this scheme is not

Padmakshi Puraskar Yojana is not a scholarship and pays nothing towards tuition, hostel or books on a recurring basis. It is a one-time recognition award for a single district topper per class per district. Girl students in Rajasthan looking for continuing financial support should look instead at the state's scholarship and incentive schemes. The Kalibai Bheel Medhavi Chatra Scooty Scheme for high-scoring students, the Chief Minister Higher Education Scholarship Scheme, and the Aapki Beti Yojana for girls from low-income families; each of which has its own eligibility and its own application process.