Data reveals persistent delays at various levels despite MahaDBT portal; thousands of applicants unpaid
Representational image. Pic/iStock
As of December 18, 2025, data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query shows that around 1.42 lakh students who applied for 14 government scholarship schemes over the last five years are still awaiting disbursement. Of these, 75,000 applications are pending at the college level, while 67,000 are held up with the higher education department, state records show.
The delay persists eight years after the Maharashtra government introduced the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, MahaDBT, a centralised online portal aimed at enabling direct transfer of scholarship benefits to students. While the platform was launched to improve transparency and efficiency, the process continues to face persistent delays.
For the academic year 2024-25, 6563 applications remain pending at the institute level, while 3096 are pending at the department level. In addition, the second instalment of 9153 scholarships is yet to be released. Pending payments date back several years, with the second instalment of 2105 applicants from 2021-22 still unpaid.
An official from the higher education department said fund availability was a key reason for the lag. “We inform the departments concerned about the funds required for each scholarship. Delays occur as the full amount is not released at one time. Scholarships are approved as soon as we receive the amount,” the official said.
“This has been the long-standing plight of scholarship applicants,” said Amar Ekad, president of the Care of Public Safety Association (COPS), who filed the RTI with the Directorate of Higher Education. “Departments and institutes failing to implement the scholarship schemes should be reprimanded. The MahaDBT portal was developed by the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Education, for smoother implementation, but students continue to wait for years.
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