Shillong: Meghalaya CM Conrad K Sangma on Thursday released the first instalment of the Umbrella post-matric scholarship for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students for the 2025-26 academic year at a programme held at Shillong College.A total of 96,812 applications from ST students across the state were verified for the current academic year, with the estimated expenditure pegged at Rs 198.42 crore. The Union ministry of tribal affairs has conveyed a central share of Rs 84.55 crore, while the state govt has sanctioned its 10% share of Rs 9.40 crore to prevent delays.An amount of Rs 93.698 crore was released as the first instalment to all beneficiaries across Meghalaya through direct benefit transfer into their bank accounts.“This year, the Union finance ministry has introduced a new Single Nodal Agency (SNA) mode for real-time transactions. Under SNA, funds no longer come to the ministry or the state govt. On completion of paperwork and verification by the state, RBI directly transfers the money to the student’s account,” Conrad, who also holds the finance portfolio, said.Conrad urged students not to panic if they did not receive SMS alerts immediately, saying the transfer process had begun despite the intervening holidays for Raksha Bandhan, Saturday and Sunday.He also assured students that the government would pursue the release of the remaining Central share and the separate Chief Minister’s Scholarship at the earliest.
