In an independent country India, there are still taboos in the main of many unethical practices. The results do pop up in the form of female students drop out from schools, colleges, universities and popular institutions. Scholarships for the single girl child do vent upon more on promising a bright and better future for the candidates and offering good roles to them in society.

This is a know notion that girl students are not getting the proper focus as that of the boys in various states of the country. It not only retards the country’s growth rather comes as a stagnant point in the smooth functioning of the educational bone of the nation. Amidst all this, the proper growth of educational system needs to be strengthened and centered mostly on the constant growth of girls and making them more aware of different fields and promising areas for career growth.

The Government of India has taken numerous steps to enhance the educational benefits of the girls in the country. The Union Government of India has undertaken various steps to uplift the status of women by implementing various schemes including free education for girls. On the same note UGC has introduced a Post Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child with an aim to compensate direct costs of girl education to all levels especially for such girls who happen to be the only girl child in their family.

There has been frequent dropouts in the number of female student from institutes, mostly in higher education, keeping such blockers in mind, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, have started the scheme of sanctioning scholarships. It is meant for families which are nuclear ones with a single child, particularly a girl child.  The scholarship will compensate for educational costs, particularly at the higher education level.
The scholarship named as the Indira Gandhi Scholarship, tries to work under the same notion. It is named so because she was the country’s first woman prime minister who was a single girl child herself.

As a part of the same, government has already introduced fee waivers to the single child of a family from Class 6 to 12.  Besides, the candidate has a monthly scholarship for completion of her degree course. Further, female students who successfully complete an undergraduate programme will be awarded a scholarship for higher education too. These scholarships will be sanctioned by the University Grants Commission.

Undergraduate Courses

Coming to the UG classes, scholarships will be awarded to those girls, who have completed Class 10 under the CBSE board. The scholarships include the cost for Class 11 and 12 and have been further extended to degree courses selected by the candidate, irrespective of whether it is a professional or non-professional course.

Students can apply for the scholarship from the CBSE website and fill up all the contents properly. While filling up the forms, the
principal of the college must also provide conduct certificate. Apart from the above the documents required for the completion of form are -an affidavit of her parents, sworn before a First Class Judicial Magistrate/SDM/Executive Magistrate that carries a non-judicial stamp paper, stating that she is the only daughter in the family and that they have no other children along with attested copies of mark sheets (Class 10 and Class 12). Documents and application should be sent under the provided deadline.

Scholarship Amount

There lies variation in the scholarship amount too-
-For Class 11 and 12, the scholarship amount is Rs 500 per month.
-For undergraduate courses, it is Rs 550 a month.
-For professional courses selected through AIPMT/AIEEE, the scholarship amount is Rs 1000 a month, for all four years.

Note- Though the limit on the number of scholarships that are awarded to students in Class 11 and 12 every year is not fixed, yet the number is limited to 550 for undergraduate courses, 150 for medicine, and 350 for technical courses.

The amount of scholarship amount is directly credited to the candidate’s bank account as mentioned in the application form.  The sanction letter is posted to the candidate’s address and names are published in the CBSE website every year.

There are also renewals for professional courses like medicine, where students have to attach the previous year mark sheet to renew their application.

Postgraduate Courses

These scholarships are entitled for non-professional, postgraduate courses only for institutes that are recognized by the UGC. Minimum age criteria should not exceed 30 years at the time of admission.

The scholarship amounts to Rs 2,000 a month and payable for two years (10 months every year). The same process and documents of affidavit stating that she is the only girl child in her family needs to be submitted.

There is a limitation on the number of intake and is fixed at 1200 a year and is valid for external and regular students.

PG Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child 2013-15

For the session of 2013-15, UGC has laid down the criteria-

Eligibility

-Any single girl child of her parents. In a family if one son and one daughter is available then girl child will not be considered for scholarship under the scheme.
-The scheme is applicable to such a single girl child who has taken admission in regular, full-time 1st year Masters Degree course in any recognized university or a post graduate college.
-This scholarship is available to PG-I year student only.
-Admission to PG Course in distance education mode is not covered under the scheme.
Other Documents with the Application Form
-Proof of admission to 1st Year Master’s degree course in a recognized Indian University
-A certificate from the College/University where student have taken admission to first year PG Course in the current academic year (prescribed format).
-An affidavit on Rs.50/- Stamp paper from the student/parent duly attested by SDM / First Class Magistrate / Gazetted Officer (not below the rank of Tahsildar) copying the prescribed languages (prescribed format).

Every society needs to have a balance in terms of educating both boys and girls students. It retains the progress of any civilized society. Schemes like this and many more will certainly enlighten the brains of the present generation and the upcoming ones. This is going to inscribe for a better future and thereby giving a cause for all to propose with a high change that can follow.