Department of higher education (DHE) in Madhya Pradesh has asked universities and colleges across the state to link Aadhaar numbers of students with their scholarship accounts.
DHE wrote to the institutes after the Ministry of human resource development forwarded the letter to the department. Sources say the HRD ministry had instructed the UGC that from 2016-17 financial year, Aadhaar has been made mandatory for direct disbursement of all government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships to beneficiaries’ accounts.
DHE additional director RS Verma said, “We had implemented this since 2013-14 to avoid duplicity or record exact sources of scholarships. The notification is for those undergraduate students admitted this year who are still unlinked.”
Verma said the initiative is helpful for students coming from far-flung areas as it will ensure timely provision of fellowship amount.
Earlier, Aadhaar card was not mandatory for scholarship application. Candidates had to submit other means of identity verification and their respective bank accounts.
The Supreme Court said in 2015 that Aadhaar could be linked to Public Distribution Scheme, LPG distribution Scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Social Assistance Programme, Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation on a ‘voluntary’ basis.
[Source:-Hindustan Times]
