Aadhaar Card Now Mandatory For Central Government Scholarship Schemes For School And College Students

New Delhi: Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has announced that College and University students must have an Aadhaar card or should have undergone Aadhaar authentication in order to avail Central Sector Scholarship Scheme. According to a notice by the ministry, Students who are already receiving these scholarships and do not have an Aadhaar card must apply for the same by June 30, 2017.  The rule is, however, not applicable for students in Jammu and Kashmir. The rule comes on the heels of similar regulation in which Aadhaar card was made mandatory for candidates applying to NEET 2017 exam. 

The ministry also issued another notice which said that school students who wished to avail National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme should also apply for Aadhaar by June 30. Students in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Meghalaya will not need Aadhaar card though. 

According to Press Trust of India, officials from the ministry said that the move has been introduced to allow the ministry to distribute scholarship benefits to the beneficiaries in a transparent and smooth manner. Making Aadhaar mandatory removes the compulsion to submit multiple documents. The official said that until the students do not get Aadhaar card, they can apply for scholarship with their Aadhaar Enrolment ID slip, Aadhaar enrolment application, Voter identity card, PAN card etc.
 
The ministry has made similar provisions for school students who are due to apply for Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme. The ministry plans to implement these rules in all Indian states except Jammu and Kashmir immediately from the day of the publication of the notice. 

Recently Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) also made Aadhaar compulsory for candidates applying to its vacant posts. 

(With Inputs from Press Trust of India)

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