The Free Coaching Scheme for SC and OBC Students is implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment under which financial support for coaching is provided to the eligible students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to enable them appear in competitive examinations.
The number of students who have received free coaching under the Scheme during the last three years is as under:
| Year | Number of beneficiaries |
| 2016-17 | 450 |
| 2017-18 | 2150 |
| 2018-19 | 2046 |
The number of students in various courses who have cleared examinations for which they had received coaching under scheme as per the details furnished by 10 of the empanelled institutes is as under:
| Course | Number of student |
| NEET | 205 |
| AIEEE/JEE | 114 |
| UPSE(Pre/Mains) | 19 |
| SPSC((Pre/Mains) | 45 |
| CA-CPT | 15 |
Under the scheme, the institutes are considered by a Selection Committee based on their past record of performance and other criteria determined by the Selection Committee.
The eligibility criteria for selection of coaching institutions is follows:
(i) The institute should be a registered body or run by any organization registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860/Companies Act, 2013 or any other relevant Act of the State/Union Territory.
(ii) The institute should have been registered for a period of at least 3 years as on date of notification for inviting applications from State/UTs/Coaching Institutions for empanelment by the Ministry.
(iii) The institute should have been fully functional for a minimum period of 3 years at the time of applying under the Scheme and having a minimum enrolment of 100 students in the courses each year for at least two years, immediately prior to the year in which selected for empanelment.
(iv) The institute must have proper infrastructure to meet all requirements for providing coaching in the courses applied for.
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