DDSY

"Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana" awards annual scholarships to students who have good academic records and are also pursuing 'Philately' as a hobby. The objective is to “Promote Philately among children at a young age in a sustainable manner that can reinforce and supplement the academic curriculum.

The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications has launched a Scholarship Scheme called "Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana" to award children in the class category of Standard 6th to 9th. It is proposed to award annual scholarships to students who have good academic records and are also pursuing 'Philately' as a hobby. The objective of the scholarship is to “Promote Philately among children at a young age in a sustainable manner that can reinforce and supplement the academic curriculum in addition to providing a hobby that can help them relax and de-stress”.

> Number of Scholarships

• 920 scholarships will be awarded to students at the PAN India level.
• Every Postal Circle will give a maximum of 40 scholarships to 10 students each from Standard 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th.

• The applicant should be a regular student of Class 6th-9th.
• The applicant should be studying in a recognized school in India.
• The school should have a Philately Club and the candidate should be a member of that Club. In case the School Philately Club hasn't been established, a student having his own Philately Deposit Account may also be considered.
• The applicant should have scored at least 60% marks or equivalent grade/ grade point in the recent final examination.

Relaxation

There will be a 5% relaxation for SC/ST.

> Amount of Scholarship

• The amount of the Scholarship is to be ₹ 6,000/- per annum @ ₹ 500/- per month.
• IPPB/POSB will ensure that the scholarship is paid to awardees on a quarterly basis (Rs. 1500/- each quarter) after getting the list from each Circle.

> Renewability

• Selections to the scholarship would be for one year.
• An already selected student can apply for the scholarship next year provided he/she fulfils other criteria.

> Mentor

• Every prospective school which participates in the competition would be assigned a Philately Mentor to be chosen from amongst the renowned Philatelist.
• The Philately Mentor would help in the formation of the School level Philately Club, providing guidance to young and aspiring Philatelists on how to pursue the hobby and also helping the aspiring Philatelists with their Philately Projects etc.