Pune: The Department of Social Justice and Special Assistance has disqualified four students from the prestigious Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj Foreign Scholarship Program due to the submission of false information.

The decision was announced after an inquiry into the application details of the students, which revealed discrepancies in their submitted data.

The foreign scholarship program, established in 2003, aims to provide students from the Scheduled Castes (SC) community with the opportunity to study at renowned educational institutions abroad.

Under this program, 75 students were selected for the scholarship on August 30, and an additional 38 students were placed on a waiting list.

However, following the discovery of inaccurate information, the scholarship awards granted to Ulka Khobragade from Wardha, Samiksha Dongre from Gondia, Prachi Wankhede from Raigad, and Atharva Kamble from Pune have been canceled.

These students were all pursuing postgraduate studies. The proposal for cancellation was submitted by the Commissioner of Social Welfare on September 13, and the cancellation has since been confirmed.

In response to the cancellations, the department quickly moved to fill the vacant spots with candidates from the waiting list. The four selected students are Sushil Ranvare, Mayur Thorat, Pallavi Amule, and Ravi Evale.

All four students will now receive scholarships to pursue a two-year postgraduate engineering course at the University of Sydney in Australia.

The scholarship recipients are required to sign an official agreement, committing to returning to India after completing their studies and utilizing their acquired knowledge to contribute to the nation's development.

Additionally, the selected students must complete their studies within the stipulated time frame, as no extensions or additional financial support will be provided by the government under any circumstances.