10 March,2026 04:11 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said that 93,326 applications were awaiting verification. File Pic
More than 93,000 scholarship applications from students seeking higher education are currently pending verification in Maharashtra, the state government informed the legislative council on Tuesday, reported the PTI.
In a written reply, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said that 93,326 applications were awaiting verification on the MahaDBT Portal as of February 27.
Patil explained that the verification process is often delayed because applicants fail to upload required documents, submit incorrect files, or do not provide hard copies of their applications to colleges.
These issues slow down the scrutiny process carried out by the concerned authorities.
The matter was raised by Manisha Kayande of the Shiv Sena along with several other legislators. They highlighted that around 1.42 lakh students had been deprived of scholarships over the past five years, up to December 2025, according to the PTI.
Legislators expressed concern that financial constraints could force some students to discontinue their education if scholarships are delayed.
According to the minister, 1,42,383 applications were pending verification till December 2025. However, after instructions were issued to divisional joint directors to speed up the scrutiny process, action was taken on 49,057 applications.
Of the currently pending applications, 81,753 belong to the 2025-26 academic year, while 11,573 are backlog cases from the previous four years, Patil said.
The state government implements 14 scholarship schemes through the MahaDBT portal.
Between the academic years 2021-22 and 2025-26, the government received 9,68,597 applications under these schemes. Scholarships were sanctioned for 7,80,495 students, with a total Rs 708.41 crore distributed to beneficiaries during this period.
Patil also rejected concerns that students were dropping out because of delayed scholarships. He said the department has not received any complaints indicating that students have discontinued their studies due to non-receipt of scholarship funds.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday told the assembly during the ongoing Maharashtra Budget Session 2026 that eight lakh farmers have benefited from the government's flagship solar agricultural feeder scheme, which provides affordable daytime electricity for irrigation and farming activities, reported the PTI.
CM Fadnavis said that work on 4,000 MW capacity under the Chief Minister Solar Agricultural Feeder Scheme (Mukhyamantri Solar Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0) has been completed. The government now plans to scale up the initiative by an additional 10,000 MW, aiming to extend the scheme to nearly all regions by next year, though some areas still face challenges.
During Question Hour, the chief minister highlighted the popularity of the Maagel Tyala Saur Krushi Pump Yojana, which provides solar-powered irrigation pumps.
He cited an example of a woman farmer who told him that she uses solar energy for irrigation, and surplus electricity is stored in capacitors and batteries for home use at night.
(with PTI inputs)
