Chandigarh, 18 September: The Punjab Government has opened a historic initiative to make foreign education a reality for Scheduled Caste students, providing complete financial support including tuition, visa, airfare, and an annual maintenance allowance of ₹13.17 lakh.
Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said the transformative scheme, launched under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s leadership, will target talented students under 35 years of age with at least 60% marks and parental income below ₹8 lakh. “This scheme will open new doors of opportunity for Punjab’s talented youth, and parents will no longer have to mortgage property to send their children abroad,” she said at a press conference in Punjab Bhawan.
The government has also ensured a 30% reservation for female students and a maximum of two beneficiaries per family, with each student eligible only once. Online applications for the 2025-26 academic session will be accepted through the NOS portal from September 15 to October 24.
Dr. Kaur mentioned the government’s focus on domestic educational uplift as well. The Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme has been streamlined to prevent misuse, with 2.37 lakh students already benefiting this year—a 35% rise over 2022. The target for 2025-26 is 2.7 lakh students, with awareness campaigns ensuring no eligible student is left out.
Top Class Education scholarships for students from OBC, EBC, and DNT backgrounds are also being extended for premier institutions including AIIMS Bathinda, IIT Ropar, NIT Jalandhar, IIM Amritsar, NIPER Mohali, ISI Chandigarh, Thapar College Patiala, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Patiala, IISER Mohali, and IHM Gurdaspur.
In addition, a two-month PCS crash course will be launched at Ambedkar Institute, Mohali, to train SC, BC, and minority students for civil services. Forty candidates will be selected through an entrance test, with the institute upgraded at a cost of ₹1.47 crore and an additional ₹1.22 crore invested. Professors’ honoraria have been raised to attract eminent trainers.
“This government is committed to making higher education accessible, affordable, and attractive for every eligible child in Punjab. Only through education can we socially and economically empower our students,” Dr. Kaur said.
The package of scholarships, crash courses, and foreign study opportunities signals a historic focus on empowering Punjab’s marginalized communities and helping talented youth achieve global educational ambitions without financial burden.
