IIT Madras said that the scholarship is meant for all students whose family income is less than 8 lakh per annum, which includes both OBC and General category students
Representative photo. IIT Madras
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has found itself caught in a controversy as a Rs 10.5 crore scholarship for students from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) has raised eyebrows for being “biased”.
What is the scholarship?
On 7 May, the IIT Madras launched a scholarship programme in collaboration with the Power Grid Corporation of India for the economically weaker (EWS) BTech students.
The corporation will contribute Rs 10.5 Crore towards creating a scholarship fund as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
“This fund would support deserving students at IIT Madras, covering their tuition fees through merit-cum-means scholarships. This is the highest single contribution that IIT Madras has received for scholarships under CSR in the financial year 2021-22,” the institute said in a statement.
IIT-Madras termed it a “one-of-its kind scholarship” with a “special focus on women students from economically weaker sections” aimed at encouraging women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
“We are grateful to Power Grid Corporation of India for this generous support of scholarships for economically weaker students. They are most deserving of this support, since it is by their sheer hard work that they have made it into this institution. Through this initiative, IIT-Madras, as an inclusive institution, is glad to enable students — especially girl students, who need financial support the most,” IIT-Madras Dean, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, had said during an event to mark the occasion Saturday, as reported by ThePrint.
What is the controversy?
Even as the institute mentioned the scholarship for the EWS students, and made no mention about different reservation categories, it came under fire on social media for being a “biased allocation”.
DMK MP Dr Thamizhachi Thangapandian criticised the programme and said in a tweet: “Power Grid Corporation of India, while being a Public Sector Enterprise, has made an extremely biased allocation of funds at IIT-Madras. Rs.10.5 crore solely allocated to EWS Scholarship? What about the scholarship funds for SC/ST/OBC students?”
Responding to the criticism, IIT Madras issued clarification on its Twitter handle.
It said that the scholarship is meant for all students whose family income is less than 8 lakh per annum, which includes both OBC and General category students.