By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh has topped the list of states where highest number of scheduled caste students have bagged national overseas scholarships during the year 2017-2018.

The data was given in a written reply by Vijay Sampla, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, in the Rajya Sabha.

The national overseas scholarship is a Central scheme under which SC students get financial assistance for for pursuing higher studies — Masters level courses and PhD programmes in specific academic areas.

Delhi and Karnataka followed UP with 10 students each while nine applicants each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra bagged the national overseas scholarships.

States from where there were no beneficiaries were Tripura, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The scheme covers tuition fees of institutions, monthly maintenance allowance, passage visa fee, insurance premium, annual contingency allowance and incidental journey allowance. Per couple, two children can avail the scholarships.

Currently, there is no state-wise quota for this scheme. The applications are advertised in the media twice a year. The scholarships are given for 100 students in the fields of engineering and management, pure sciences and applied sciences, agricultural sciences and medicine, international commerce, accounting and finance, humanities and social science.

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