Driving and Scholarship Schemes Expanded for Maratha Youth Amid Protests
Amid the ongoing Maratha agitation, Maharashtra's cabinet rolled out four decisive orders on Monday, the tenth day of Manoj Zarrange Patil's hunger strike at Antirvali Sarati, Jalna. The orders focus on education, financial relief and skill development for the Maratha, Kunbi and SEBC populations.
The Technical Education Directorate issued a statewide circular ordering that from the 2026‑27 academic year Maratha students will be accorded the same educational concessions as OBC students, covering fee reductions, reservation quotas and scholarship eligibility.
The Higher and Technical Education Department sanctioned an additional ₹200 crore to clear pending hostel‑maintenance allowances for students from the EBC, EWS and SEBC categories. This allocation was approved during the monsoon session of the state legislature.
A significant amendment was made to the foreign scholarship framework managed by the Chhatrapati Shahujah Research, Training and Human Development Institute (Sarathi). Tuition fees will now be paid directly to overseas universities, removing the previous upper limit on benefits, and an extra $1,500 (or £1,100 for UK students) will be added to the annual living allowance. Selections will follow a revised merit system tied to QS World University Rankings.
On the skill‑training front, Sarathi, Pune, signed an MoU with the Institute of Driving Training and Research Services (IDTRS) in Pimpri‑Chinchwad. The agreement launches LMV, HMV and conductor training programmes for 1,440 Maratha and Kunbi youths, slated to start on 1 October. The scheme obliges providers to secure employment or self‑employment for at least 1,000 participants.
Water Resources Minister Radhakrushna Vike Patil convened a high‑level review meeting with divisional commissioners and district officers to speed up verification of Kunbi records, as per the Hyderabad Gazette. Verified records have been uploaded to official district websites and must be posted on Gram Panchayat notice boards for public visibility.
Manoj Zarrange Patil urged Maratha communities across the state to attend a strategic meeting on 12 September at Antirvali Sarati, requesting that they avoid a march toward Mumbai. He highlighted that the final march timetable for Mumbai will be decided at this gathering, with extensive arrangements for crowd management, LED screens and sound systems already in place.
Patil blamed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the heightened tension, absolving the police of any fault. He instructed supporters to stay calm, not to panic or target law‑enforcement personnel, and warned that any injury to a Maratha protester on the way to Mumbai would trigger a full‑state shutdown within ten minutes.