Which of the following statements about 'SHRESHTA' scheme, launched recently by the Government of India, is/are correct? 1. This scheme is for residential education for students in high school in targeted areas. 2. It provides for high quality education for meritorious but poor Scheduled Caste students. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. SHRESHTA stands for Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas, and it is run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. Statement 1 simply restates the scheme's own name, so it is correct. Statement 2 is correct too — the scheme exists to put meritorious Scheduled Caste students from low-income families into high-quality schools, with merit judged by a national entrance test and eligibility capped by a parental income limit.
- (a)1 only — Statement 2 is also correct. The scheme is explicitly targeted at meritorious Scheduled Caste students from poor families, so leaving statement 2 out drops the scheme's whole target group.
- (b)2 only — Statement 1 is correct as well — 'Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas' is literally what the acronym SHRESHTA stands for.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements match the scheme as notified, so rejecting both is wrong.
SHRESHTA is a central sector scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the education of Scheduled Caste students. Its stated aim is to extend the reach of government intervention into service-deficient areas where Scheduled Castes are concentrated, using both reputed private residential schools and grant-aided voluntary organisations, so that education becomes a route to socio-economic upliftment.
The fastest route to the answer is the acronym itself. Expand SHRESHTA and statement 1 is settled without any recall at all. Statement 2 then follows from the ministry that runs it — a scheme housed in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, whose mandate under Article 46 of the Constitution is the educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections. The scheme was launched shortly before the September 2022 exam, which is why the question calls it recent; its guidelines have been revised since, so check the current guidelines before quoting the numbers below as today's figures.
- SHRESHTA is a central sector scheme of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for Scheduled Caste students.
- Under Mode-1 about 3,000 meritorious Scheduled Caste students are selected each year through a National Entrance Test conducted by the National Testing Agency, for admission to class 9 and class 11 in private residential schools affiliated to CBSE or state boards, with support up to class 12.
- Eligibility is limited to students whose parental annual income is up to Rs 2.5 lakh.
- Under Mode-2 grant-in-aid is given to voluntary organisations running residential schools, non-residential schools and hostels for Scheduled Caste students.
- Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas, run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment
- Mode-1 — a National Entrance Test conducted by the NTA selects meritorious Scheduled Caste students for class 9 and class 11 in private residential schools, with support to class 12
- Mode-2 — grant-in-aid to voluntary organisations running residential and non-residential schools and hostels for Scheduled Caste students
- Eligibility capped at a parental annual income of Rs 2.5 lakh
Both statements in the question map onto this structure — residential high-school education in targeted areas, for meritorious but poor Scheduled Caste students.
- Reading 'targeted areas' as a geographic or infrastructure programme when the scheme is about education.
- Confusing SHRESHTA with the Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which are for Scheduled Tribe students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
A two-statement scheme question in which expanding the acronym settles the first statement and the parent ministry settles the second.
Article 46 of the Constitution of India refers to the promotion of educational and economic interests of
- (a) religious minorities.
- (b) Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
- (c) displaced persons from large irrigation projects.
- (d) the economically deprived.
Answer(b) Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
The constitutional mandate that SHRESHTA gives effect to. Article 46 obliges the State to promote the educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes and other weaker sections, which is why the scheme sits with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The SHRESHTA scheme is implemented by which ministry?
- (a)Ministry of Education
- (b)Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- (c)Ministry of Tribal Affairs
- (d)Ministry of Minority Affairs
Answer(b) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment — through its Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Mode-1 of SHRESHTA, meritorious students are selected through a national entrance test conducted by
- (a)the Union Public Service Commission
- (b)the National Testing Agency
- (c)the Central Board of Secondary Education
- (d)the NCERT
Answer(b) the National Testing Agency — it conducts the National Entrance Test used for selection.