Book Bank Scheme: II

What is Book Bank Scheme II?

Book Bank Scheme II is an education support scheme of the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. Under it, Adi Dravidar and Scheduled Tribe students studying postgraduate and professional courses are supplied a free set of prescribed textbooks, at one set per student, costing not more than Rs 5,000. The books belong to the book bank and are returned to the library once the course is completed, so the same set serves successive batches.

The problem the scheme addresses is specific and expensive. A student in a professional course does not buy one textbook; they buy a shelf. A medical postgraduate needs standard reference volumes running to several thousand rupees each. An LLM student needs bare acts, commentaries and case reporters. A CA Intermediate candidate needs a complete study set that changes with every amendment. For a first-generation student from an Adi Dravidar or tribal family, that book bill can exceed a year's hostel cost, and it arrives in the first weeks of the course, before any scholarship has been credited.

The book bank model is the department's answer: buy the books once, lend them for the duration of the course, take them back. It costs the state a fraction of what an outright grant would, and it puts the books in the student's hands in week one rather than in month six.

What Book Bank II covers, and how it differs from Book Bank I

Tamil Nadu runs the book bank in two tiers, and applicants regularly apply under the wrong one.

The reason for the difference is practical. Undergraduate professional students in a single college follow the same syllabus in large cohorts, so a shared set between two students works. Postgraduate and professional students are few per institution, follow specialised syllabi and need the books continuously through the year, so sharing does not work and each student is given a set.

Who is eligible for Book Bank II, and who is not

A student can claim if:

• The student belongs to the Adi Dravidar, Christian Adi Dravidar or Scheduled Tribe community, evidenced by a community certificate. This is the foundation of every scheme in this department.
• The student is a Government of India scholarship holder. The book bank is available to Government of India scholarship holders among Adi Dravidar and Scheduled Tribe students.
• The student is enrolled in one of the covered postgraduate or professional courses, PG medical or engineering, agriculture or veterinary science, PG technical courses, BL or LLB, LLM or ML, CA Intermediate, or MBA.
• The student is studying in Tamil Nadu in a recognised institution, with a bonafide certificate for the academic year.

A student cannot claim if:

• The student is not from the Adi Dravidar, Christian Adi Dravidar or Scheduled Tribe community. Students of other communities are not eligible under this department's schemes.
• The student is in an undergraduate professional or polytechnic course, in which case the claim belongs under Book Bank I at one set for every two students, and not here.
• The course is not among those covered. General arts and science courses, for instance, are outside the book bank, though the student remains eligible for the department's scholarships.
• The student does not hold a Government of India scholarship, which is the stated qualifying condition for the book bank.
• The student refuses to return the books. The books are the property of the book bank and must be returned to the library after the course; failure to return can block the next claim and the release of other benefits.
• Parental income exceeds the departmental ceiling. The department's scholarship schemes apply a limit of Rs 2.50 lakh a year on the annual income of the parent or guardian; confirm the limit applied to the book bank with your district office.

How to apply for Book Bank II

1. Obtain a community certificate from the Tahsildar, if you do not already hold one. Nothing in this department moves without it.
2. Apply for and secure your Post Matric Scholarship. The book bank goes to Government of India scholarship holders, so the scholarship record is what establishes the claim. Post Matric Scholarship applications for Tamil Nadu are filed through the Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare portal at tnadw.tn.gov.in.
3. Ask your college for the book bank application at the start of the academic year. Colleges consolidate the requirement for their eligible students and send the list, with the prescribed textbook list for the course, to the district office.
4. Attach the documents: community certificate, scholarship sanction or application record, bonafide certificate for the current academic year, Aadhaar and, where asked, the parent or guardian's income certificate.
5. Submit through the college to the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, who administers the book bank scheme, and keep the acknowledgement.
6. Collect the set from the book bank at the college or the district office, signing the issue register. Check that the set matches the current prescribed syllabus before you sign.
7. Return the books to the library after the course is completed. This is a condition of the scheme, not a courtesy, the same set is issued to the next student.

What else an Adi Dravidar or tribal student in higher education receives

The book bank is a small part of a substantial education package, and students routinely claim the scholarship and miss the rest.

• Post Matric Scholarship. The Government of India scheme for studies beyond Class X, credited directly to the student's bank account.
• State Government's Post Matric Scholarship, for Adi Dravidar and Christian Adi Dravidar students unable to get the benefit of the Union Government's Post Matric Scholarship, paying an equivalent amount. Parental income must not exceed Rs 2.50 lakh. In 2024-25, Rs 75.48 crore was provided to 18,029 students, with Rs 87.00 crore allocated for 2025-26.
• Higher Education Special Scholarship — credited to students in government and government-aided colleges' paid hostels to cover hostel expenses: Rs 7,500 a year for UG arts and science and polytechnic courses, and Rs 8,000 a year for PG arts and science and professional courses. Parental income limit Rs 2.50 lakh. In 2024-25, Rs 10.50 crore went to 13,830 students, with Rs 12.00 crore allocated for 2025-26.
• Education fee concessions, given regardless of income in government and government-aided institutions, tuition fee concession for college students, special and examination fee concession for UG degree students, special and examination fee concession for girls in PG studies, application fee for college students, special fee concession for Adi Dravidar Welfare school students, and exemption of public examination fees for Classes X, XI and XII. In 2024-25, Rs 26.47 crore was provided, with Rs 21.26 crore allocated for 2025-26.
• Hostel facilities for students in schools, colleges and ITIs, run by the department.
• Overseas Scholarship and PhD Scholarship portals, operated by the Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare for higher research and study abroad.
• Special Incentive Scheme for Girl Children in schools: Rs 500 a year in Classes 3 to 5, Rs 1,000 in Class 6 and Rs 1,500 in Classes 7 and 8, paid directly to bank accounts using EMIS data. In 2024-25, Rs 47.42 crore reached 4,77,624 students.
• Free textbooks and notebooks for Classes 1 to 12 and Classes 1 to 10 respectively in departmental schools, plus special guides and question bank booklets given to 17,037 Class 10 students and 14,497 Class 12 students at a cost of Rs 3.60 crore in 2024-25.

Why book bank claims fail

• Community certificate not produced or expired.
• No Government of India scholarship record, which is the qualifying condition.
• Applied under the wrong tier, an undergraduate professional student applying under Book Bank II instead of Book Bank I.
• College did not forward the consolidated list, which is worth checking with the head of department before assuming a rejection.
• Previous set not returned. An outstanding set from an earlier course blocks the next issue.
• Course not on the covered list, in which case the student should still pursue the scholarships and fee concessions.
• Applied late in the academic year, when the district's purchase for the year has already been made.

Where to get help

• District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, at the district Collectorate, the officer responsible for the book bank scheme.
• Your college's scholarship or student welfare section, which files the consolidated claim.
• Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare, tnadw.tn.gov.in, which hosts the Post Matric Scholarship, government hostel admission, overseas scholarship and PhD scholarship portals, and a grievance redressal facility.
• Tribal Welfare Department, Tamil Nadu: tntribalwelfare.tn.gov.in, for Scheduled Tribe students.

The books are supplied free of cost and must be returned after the course. No fee is payable to anyone for a book bank set.

How to check your application status

Book Bank II is administered offline through the college and the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, so there is no separate online tracking number or portal login for the book set itself. The status of a claim has to be followed up at three points.

1. With the college first. The college's scholarship or student welfare section holds the consolidated list it sends to the district office, along with the prescribed textbook list for the course. Ask the section in charge whether your name is on the list that went out for the current academic year, since this is where a claim most often stalls before it even reaches the district.
2. With the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer, at the district Collectorate. This officer administers the book bank scheme and can confirm whether the district has received the college's list, whether the purchase for the year has been placed, and when sets are due to be issued.
3. Through your Post Matric Scholarship record on tnadw.tn.gov.in. Since the book bank is tied to holding a Government of India scholarship, checking that your scholarship application or sanction is showing correctly on the Directorate of Adi Dravidar Welfare portal is a useful proxy: if the scholarship record is missing or incomplete, the book bank claim built on it will also stall.

There is no SMS or helpline-based tracking code issued for the book set itself. If the college confirms your name was forwarded and the district confirms the year's purchase is in hand, the practical status check becomes visiting the book bank counter at the college or district office to see whether your set has arrived and collecting it against the issue register. If weeks have passed after the academic year has started with no word, follow up in person with the District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Officer rather than waiting, since book bank purchases for a district are made once for the year and a late claim can miss that window entirely.