Maharashtra OBC, VJNT, SBC hostel students to get up to ₹1,500 monthly allowance

Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, approved a hike in the subsistence allowance (nirvah bhatta) for hostel students on 4 November 2026. Students in divisional-level hostels will now get ₹1,500 a month, and those in hostels at district headquarters will get ₹1,300 a month.

This applies to students from OBC, Vimukta Jati (VJ), Nomadic Tribes (NT) and Special Backward Category (SBC) groups who stay in hostels run under the hostel scheme of the Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Department. Pudhari reports the allowance is now more than double the earlier rate. Old amounts and the date from which the new rates apply are not announced yet.

Scholarships and other support for these students are listed on the Maharashtra schemes for students page.