According to a significant step towards educational aid for the disadvantaged, the Uttar Pradesh government announced that 45,456 scholarships would be conferred upon students from Kanpur for the academic session 2025-26, that is, an increase of around 13,000 over last year. The scheme intends to help students from different categories, such as SC, ST, OBC, Minorities, and the General category.

Application Process and Dates

The scholarship applications will be available for submission starting July 10, 2025, through the official OTR portal. Students of Classes 9 to 12 can apply earlier, from July 2, with a deadline of October 30, 2025, for those students. From March 31, 2026, SC/ST applications for students starting from Class 9 will be considered. For OBC, Minority, and General students, the last date for application provision, per the rule of exception, is December 20, 2025.

Scholarship Disbursement Schedule

The scholarships shall be paid in phases. The SC/ST students will be paid the scholarship on December 15, January 24, March 10, and June 22. Students belonging to the OBC, Minority, and General categories will receive the benefits in two instalments: one on January 24 and another on March 16. Scholarships for Classes 9 to 12 under all categories will be delivered latest by December 31, 2025.

Data Verification by Institutes

To have a smooth transaction, the institutions must lock their master data by November 25 for colleges and December 5 for universities. These cut-off dates will help verify the student data that will aid in payment processing.

Reason Behind the Jump

As said by the District Backwards Classes Officer, Virpal, an increase shows that the Government’s continuous commitment toward education persists. Last year, over 40,000 SC/ST students entering Class 10 and higher got these scholarships, while 3,292 were from Classes 9-10. A total of nearly 32,000 students from all categories benefited during the 2024-25 academic session. The present increase in beneficiaries therefore shows expectation and efforts on the part of the Government to fulfil it.

Actions of Students

Eligible students are advised to do their OTR registration before applying and ensure the application is submitted on the stipulated dates. They must follow up on the payment schedule and check their status via the official portal. With this initiative, thousands of deserving students in Kanpur will be able to proceed with their education free of cost.