Hyderabad: Just 269 students from Telangana have benefited from the Centre’s INSPIRE-SHE scholarship programme since its inception in 2008, with Rs 6.3 crore disbursed to them. According to the data tabled in Rajya Sabha in response to a query earlier this week, more than 1.3 lakh students nationwide have received Rs 2,784 crore under the scheme since its inception. Telangana’s numbers, however, have trailed far behind those of Karnataka (26,164), Rajasthan (23,467), Uttar Pradesh (60,263) and West Bengal (15,958).Run by the department of science and technology, Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research – Scholarship for Higher Education (INSPIRE-SHE) is aimed at encouraging meritorious students aged 17 to 22 to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies in basic and natural sciences. It offers a scholarship of Rs 60,000 a year, along with another Rs 20,000 as a mentorship grant, taking the total annual support to Rs 80,000.The state’s low beneficiary count also comes against a relatively small pool of applicants. Data released by the department of science and technology for the 2024 batch showed that 55 applications were received from Telangana, of which 17 were selected. Nationally, 21,392 applications were received that year, with 11,294 students selected. An education department official familiar with the issue said poor awareness could be one reason why Telangana’s numbers are so low. “Lack of information is one reason why students are unable to take advantage of such opportunities,” he said.He pointed to a deeper structural gap too, the absence of any single body responsible for tracking and pursuing Central schemes on the state’s behalf. “There is no single-window mechanism through which these opportunities can be identified, pursued and followed up. The state needs dedicated officers whose job it is to actively track such schemes, promote them among institutions, and make sure the state doesn’t lose out simply because nobody followed up,” he added.The problem isn’t unique to INSPIRE-SHE, the official said. Telangana has been missing out on several Central schemes, sometimes for lack of persistence and at other times because it has not provided the required matching grants. “If we do not apply, pursue and provide the required support, we cannot expect these schemes to reach our students,” he said.Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education Institutions (FATHI) secretary K Ramdas, however, said the scholarship amount itself may also be discouraging students from applying. “The scholarship amount offered by the Centre is very low compared to the cost of higher education here in Telangana. The basic fees for pursuing science courses can run to around Rs 1.1 lakh a year on their own. State govt schemes, in that way, offer better financial support,” he added.That gap, Ramdas said, makes state govt scholarships more attractive by comparison. He suggested that INSPIRE-SHE support be raised to at least Rs 1 lakh a year if it is to provide meaningful assistance for the students it is intended to to help.
