Chandigarh: Under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab Government is consistently working towards the welfare and upliftment of all sections of society. Special focus is being laid on empowering Scheduled Caste (SC) students by ensuring equal access to education and opportunities. This was stated by Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister, Dr. Baljit Kaur.
Announcing a significant step in this direction, Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Post-Matric Scholarship Portal has been reopened for the academic year 2025-26, and applications can now be submitted online up to December 29, 2025. She added that reopening the portal will facilitate timely financial assistance to eligible SC students and streamline the scholarship application process.
The Cabinet Minister shared that the Government has set a target to provide benefits of this scheme to 2.70 lakh students during 2025-26. So far, 2,49,620 students have submitted their applications on the portal, out of which 1,26,722 cases have already been verified. She added that during the 2025–26 academic year, financial assistance has already been disbursed to 19,871 students from the State quota, and the remaining eligible beneficiaries will be covered shortly.
Under the scheme, newly enrolled students are issued Free-Ship Cards, enabling them to avail fee waivers and secure admissions in recognized educational institutions as per prescribed norms.
Reaffirming the State Government’s commitment, Dr. Baljit Kaur said that Punjab is fully dedicated to ensuring academic, social, and economic empowerment of Scheduled Caste students. Clear directions have been issued to all district administrations, institutions, and nodal agencies to ensure maximum outreach of the scheme so that no eligible student is deprived of the scholarship benefits.
