Smriti Irani: Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday (February 9) gave a written answer to the question asked in Parliament regarding the Maulana Azad National Fellowship. Irani said that the beneficiaries of the fellowship are given funds on a monthly basis.
The Union minister was answering a question on Maulana Azad National Fellowship on behalf of TN Prathapan, Congress MP from Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. MP Pratapan had asked a question regarding the release of Maulana Azad National Fellowship to the students.
Tell, for what reasons fellowship is not being given every month – Congress MP
The MP had asked in his question that in what time the amount is released under this fellowship and for what reasons the fellowship is not being given to the beneficiaries every month. According to a report in The Hindu, students belonging to minority communities have termed this answer wrong.
In this report, the students have claimed that they have not received the fellowship amount for seven months. Students also say that delay and obstruction in getting the fellowship amount is not a new thing and it has been happening for a long time.
Debate on social media platforms
On the social media platform Twitter, MANF scholar Shah Rukh Khan at Hyderabad’s English and Foreign Languages University reacted to the Union Minister’s reply. Khan wrote that respected administration… MANF students have not received fellowship for the last 6 months. In this situation, these statements have made us more disappointed. It is like rubbing salt on our wounds.
Kanwalpreet Kaur, a resident of Mumbai wrote on Twitter that Madam Smriti Irani ji, unfortunately we are not the lucky research students who are getting MANF grant every month. For the last 7 months I am waiting for this miracle and the amount I will get every month.
Overlapping with other schemes
In response to another question, Union Minister Smriti Irani had said that fellowships are given by the UGC and CSIR to candidates from all social categories and communities. In which minorities also come. Minority community students also get cover under the National Fellowship Scheme for SC-ST and OBC.
The Union Minister said that in view of this overlap, MANF has been discontinued from the academic session of 2022-23. He said that the beneficiaries who are currently getting fellowship will continue to get fellowship till the course limit is over. These people just have to follow the guidelines.
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