Fact Check: PM CARES funds for free coaching limited to SCs, OBCs? No, here are the details

Hyderabad: A social media post accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of biased behaviour regarding reservations in a free coaching scheme is going viral.

The post takes a dig at the BJP by mentioning chief minister Yogi Adithyanath’s call for unity among Hindus with the slogan ‘batenge toh katenge’ (If divided, we will be cut up).

Referring to the new parameters of a free coaching scheme by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the post alleged that the government won the election by urging Hindus to be united whereas it is now proposing schemes that are only applicable to SCs and OBCs.

The post contains a screenshot of a news report with the title, ‘PM CARES beneficiaries, SC-OBC students to get free coaching for competitive exams’ published on February 21, 2025. The image was uploaded with the caption: “Unbelievable! Only SCs and OBCs are eligible for free coaching under PM CARES. Same govt that wins elections with the slogan ‘Batoge toh katoge’”

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The latest update in the scheme includes SC and OBC students along with other beneficiaries of the PM CARES for Children Scheme and it does not have any caste-related restrictions.

Using a reverse image search of the screenshot from the viral post, we found that it was taken from The Hindu report published on February 21, 2025, with the same headline and the image showing PM Narendra Modi interacting with students.

According to the report, “The government has introduced an updated scheme to provide high-quality coaching to children covered under the PM CARES scheme along with students from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).”

The Hindu also stated that the latest update extends its benefits to PM CARES beneficiaries, removing caste and income-related restrictions for these students.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment published guidelines for the ‘Free Coaching for SCs, OBCs and beneficiaries of PM CARES Children Scheme’ on its website under the section ‘Schemes’.

The guidelines for the applications for the scheme from year 2024-2025 were published on the Ministry’s website on February 19, 2025.

What do the guidelines of the PM CARES state?

According to the scheme’s guidelines, it will be implemented by the Dr Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) through Central Universities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The document outlines that 3,500 students will be selected under the scheme annually. Out of this, 100 seats are allotted to each Central University. As many as 70 per cent of the seats are reserved for students belonging to SC category and 30 per cent of the seats are reserved for OBC students.

Under both categories, 30 per cent of the slots are reserved for women students.

All eligible beneficiaries of the PM CARES for Children Scheme would be admitted under the scheme, irrespective of crossing the 100 slots allotted per Central University.

Eligibility criteria

Students belonging to SCs and OBCs, having a total family income of Rs 8 lakh or less per annum from all sources will be eligible for benefits under the Scheme

All beneficiaries of the PM CARES Children Scheme who have a certificate (with beneficiary ID) issued by the Central Government confirming their status as beneficiaries are eligible.

There are no income or caste-related restrictions for beneficiaries of the PM CARES Children Scheme to avail of the benefits under this scheme according to section 5.B of the scheme guidelines.

What is PM CARES for Children Scheme?

According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the PM CARES scheme was launched by prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 29, 2021. The scheme aims ‘to support children who lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to Covid-19 pandemic during March 11, 2020, and May 5, 2023.

PIB stated that the objective of the scheme is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children in a sustained manner. To enable their well-being through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for a self-sufficient existence with financial support until they reach 23 years of age.

Scheme background - caste eligibility

A scheme for providing free coaching to students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) was started during the 6th Five Year Plan (1980-1985). Similar schemes were also being implemented to provide free coaching to students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Minorities.

The various coaching schemes for SCs, OBCs and Minorities were combined under the name ‘Coaching and Allied Assistance for Weaker Sections’ with effect from September 2001.

The scheme underwent further revisions in April 2007. A separate Ministry was created to handle matters relating to the Minorities. This change removed the Minorities component from the ambit of the scheme.

The beneficiaries of the PM CARES Children Scheme are included in this scheme from 2024-2025.

Several reports including those of Business Standard, The Print, The Hindu (same article) outlined the update in the free coaching scheme.

Therefore, NewsMeter found that the viral claim is misleading.