Bihar offers scholarship to women aspirants who clear UPSC, BPSC prelims

The Bihar government will provide scholarships worth Rs 1 lakh to women aspirants of the general category who qualify in the preliminary examinations of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

Earlier, only candidates from the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories had been given the scholarships. But now, this offer has been extended to those belonging to the general category as well.

The online application window for the scholarship is currently open. Candidates can apply till December 3. The state government’s Women and Child Development Corporation (WCDC) will be providing funds to the aspirants for their preparations for the main examination and interview round.

WCDC managing director Harjot Kaur Bamhara said that the state government had taken the initiative to encourage the performance of Bihar’s women in the UPSC and BPSC examinations. Women who had been successful in the preliminary examination of UPSC or BPSC conducted in 2021 can apply for the scholarship scheme, Bamhara added.

The scholarships will be given to only those women candidates who have not received financial assistance or grants under any of the public service promotion schemes in the past.

The Bihar government will directly transfer the scholarship amount to the bank account of the candidate. The scheme will offer a cash benefit to only those successful candidates who are residents of Bihar. If the candidate does not have residential papers issued in that state, then she cannot apply for the scholarship scheme.

Bamhara further mentioned that the amount (Rs 1 lakh) will be paid in a single instalment so that the aspirants do not face any difficulty while preparing for the main examination.

UPSC has already announced the result for the civil services preliminary exam 2021 at the end of October. The exam was conducted on October 10. Those who qualify in the prelims will be eligible to apply for the mains. Only after clearing the mains will the candidates be called to appear for the personality interview session. The final results will be declared based on all the three exams.