Punjab Govt to Fund Foreign Education for SC Students | ₹13.17 Lakh Annual Allowance

The Bhagwant Mann government has unveiled a sweeping plan to fund overseas education for Punjab’s Scheduled Caste students—a move that could reshape the state’s long-running migration story.

Social Justice Minister Baljit Kaur announced on Wednesday that the scheme will pay for tuition, airfare, visa fees and an annual allowance of ₹13.17 lakh for those admitted to any of the world’s top 500 universities. Applicants must be under 35, score at least 60 per cent, and have a family income below ₹8 lakh. Thirty per cent of the scholarships are reserved for women, and the NOS portal will accept applications until 24 October.

This foreign-study programme sits alongside a sharpened Post-Matric Scholarship scheme that the AAP government claims it has cleaned of “years of disputes and irregularities.” The numbers are striking: in three years, beneficiaries have jumped 35 per cent to 2.37 lakh students. The previous five-year period saw 3.71 lakh students get aid; the Mann administration says it has already reached 6.78 lakh in barely three.

The government has set a target of 2.70 lakh students for 2025-26 and is running awareness drives in schools and colleges. An additional Top Class Education initiative will cover OBC, EBC and DNT students in 11 premier institutions, from AIIMS Bathinda to IIT Ropar and IIM Amritsar.

There is a domestic plank as well: a two-month PCS crash course at Ambedkar Institute, Mohali, aimed at SC, BC and minority aspirants for civil services. Forty candidates will be chosen through an entrance test on 30 September.

For Punjab—a state long defined by its youth’s urge to migrate—this is more than a welfare announcement. It is an attempt to turn aspiration into policy, and to ensure that the next generation’s journey abroad begins not with debt but with a government ticket.