No Caste Or Income Restrictions For Free Coaching Scheme Under PM-CARES

Pragya Pathak

Author

Updated: 16-04-2025 at 12:46 PM

Education is one of the primary things that help an individual in forming a foundation for a sound future. But unfortunately, not everyone gets to access quality education due to various factors such as financial constraints.

To make a way for such students who come from economically weak or marginalised communities, the government of India launched the Free Coaching Scheme in the 6th Five Year Plan. Recently, the govt has introduced an amendment to the Free Coaching Scheme which will now work with the PM-CARES scheme under which students from SC and OBC communities are covered.

Read the article to learn more about the amendment introduced in the Free Coaching Scheme and its details.

Amendment In The Free Coaching Scheme

Recently, the government of India announced an amendment to be made to the Free Coaching Scheme. As per the newly announced amendment, students would be no longer restricted by specific caste or income factors which implies that the scheme will now operate with the PM-CARES scheme for wide coverage.

There are major details of the coaching scheme that one should know about. All the details are laid down below in detail for one’s better understanding and reference.

Courses Covered Under The Coaching Scheme

The Coaching scheme covers a wide range of subjects and courses to provide students with a huge choice range. The covered courses are as follows:

Civil Services Examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and State Public Service Commissions, including officer-grade recruitment tests of banks, insurance companies, and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
Entrance examinations for various competitive exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CAT, and CLAT.
International examinations like GRE, GMAT, IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT.
Defence-related examinations such as for National Defence Academy (NDA) and Combined Defence Services (CDS).

Reservation Of Students

In a year, around 3500 students are selected under the scheme. However, there are reservations as to which students will be able to reap the benefits of the scheme. The reservation criteria will be as follows:

70% of the seats will be reserved for students from the SC community.
30% of the seats will be reserved for students from the OBC community.
An extra 30% will be reserved for female students (if case, seats are remaining, they will be occupied by male candidates).
No limits on admissions for beneficiaries of the PM-CARES scheme.

Eligibility Criteria Of The Free Coaching Scheme

The eligibility criteria of the Coaching scheme are pre-determined. The criteria as per which one can apply for the scheme are as follows:

The family’s annual income shouldn’t be more than Rs. 8 lakh.
Students must’ve passed previous board exams with a minimum of 50% marks.

Selection Process Of The Free Coaching Scheme

The selection process will be conducted online by Central Universities. They will review and verify the received applications to make the merit list after. Please note that beneficiaries from the PM-CARES scheme will get direct admissions.

Benefits

The Free Coaching Scheme would provide a range of benefits to the registered students. Some of the major benefits of the govt scheme are as follows:

The coaching fees between the ranges of Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 75,000 will be borne by the government.
A monthly stipend worth Rs. 4000 for a year will be provided to students so that they can manage their expenses.
Students who have cleared the Mains of Civil & State Services exam will be given an additional stipend worth Rs. 15,000. This won’t only help them in their academic preparation but will also boost their morale.

Additional Steps Taken For The Improvement Of The Scheme

The government of India is committed to making quality education accessible and affordable for all. In line with the same, there are some additional supervisory measures aimed at improving the working of the scheme such as:

The coaching scheme will operate under the supervision of the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) in partnership with Central Universities. The coaching centres will work under the Dr Ambedkar Centre of Excellence (DACE).
Every university is required to enrol a minimum of 50 students and offers only 4 different courses.
All coaching centres are instructed to maintain biometric attendance records of students and submit them monthly.
An Online Learning Management System would also be established by the govt for the use of various universities. The digital system would help both, the teachers and students in various functions like recording attendance, accessing study materials, and uploading recorded lectures.

Conclusion

The amendment announced in the Free Coaching Scheme would finally cover all the students irrespective of their economic or caste backgrounds. After all, education should be fair and equal and not based on some man-made superficial categories.

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