Challenges in the Current Benefit Delivery System

The challenges in the current scholarship delivery systems are systemic and deeply rooted in the structure and processes governing the system, leading to a state of equilibrium where minor improvements, such as automation and process enhancements, have failed to yield substantial performance gains.

1. Lack of Trusted Data: Fragmented ownership of data and poor data management are major areas of concern leading to an overall lack of trust in the data in the system. There is a significant lack of accountability at the end of government departments on maintaining trusted citizen data. The departments incur a high administrative load in maintaining up-to-date data. This unreliability necessitates frequent re-verification during program runs, creating unnecessary delays, costs, and complexities. Beneficiaries are often required to procure and submit proof documents repeatedly, adding to their administrative burden both at scheme provider and beneficiary ends and prolonging the time to receive benefits.

2. Lack of Inter-Department Coordination: Benefit distribution often requires coordination between multiple stakeholders, such as education departments, ministries sponsoring scholarships, local governing bodies, and financial institutions. It is seen that each of these entities maintain their own databases and registries which function in silos, operate under different protocols and guidelines[t.1] and hence follow different underlying processes.

In most states in India, the student (beneficiary) data is maintained by the respective school education departments whereas benefit schemes are often governed by other social welfare departments. All these departments verify student data separately and maintain their own databases and processes.

3. Document Submission Requirements: Further complicates the scholarship process. Beneficiaries are often required to procure multiple certificates and proofs from various sources, which need to be submitted separately for each scholarship program. This repetitive documentation requirement not only increases the burden on applicants but also on the departments that have to manage and verify these documents.

In the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, a significant number of students faced difficulties in accessing scholarships due to discrepancies and missing information in their Aadhaar and caste certificate and Samagra certificate documents. This issue was exacerbated by a lack of awareness among villagers regarding the importance of these documents and the processes involved in obtaining or correcting them. This is the case for majority of the students across India, who are unable to avail scholarships. Students are required to upload up to 10 documents.

4. Document Requirements and High Cost of Application: Beneficiaries incur a high cost, sometimes to the tune of 20-30% of the benefit amount, because of the requirement to submit numerous documents for each benefit application. This high cost of acquiring scholarships is a major deterrent for many households in applying for benefits schemes. These costs are related to paperwork, transportation for document submission, and follow-up visits, which can be prohibitively expensive for many families, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Cost of application, often ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000, can be a significant barrier for students seeking scholarships. Many students in Jharkhand have been deterred from applying for the state scholarship due to these high costs, especially when there's no guarantee of receiving the benefit. Additionally, the lack of scholarships in previous years has further discouraged students from applying.

5. Delay in Benefit Delivery: Due to the convoluted process map and multiple layers of verification, there is a significant delay in delivering benefits to the intended recipients. This delay often results in eligible students missing out on timely financial support, which can affect their education.

The primary obstacle faced by students at UHS Lakadakanda in Jharkhand was the absence of a computer operator. This hindered the completion of e-Kalyan scholarship applications, as students lacked the necessary technical support. The manual processes and insufficient manpower common in most scholarship delivery systems contributed to these challenges, jeopardizing students' chances of receiving financial assistance.