SMILE - Comprehensive Rehabilitation For Welfare Of Transgender Persons

Financial assistance in the form of scholarships is provided to Transgender students studying in secondary school (IX & X) & senior secondary school (XI & XII) to reduce the incidence of dropout and support their educational aspirations. #### Objectives: - The objective is to provide financial assistance to Transgender students studying in IX and above to enable them to complete their education. - To support Transgender students to study further in order to prepare themselves to earn their livelihood and to find a dignified place for themselves in society as they face several barriers physical, financial, psychological, and mental in pursuing studies and living with dignity. At times such students are deprived of harnessing their latent skills and thereby miss the opportunity. - The scholarship shall be awarded to students studying in a government or private higher secondary school/college/university, including such residential institutes of the Government and eligible private institutes selected and notified in a transparent manner by the State Government/Union Territory Administration concerned. - The scheme will also cover technical and vocational courses in Industrial Training Institutes/ Industrial Training Centres affiliated with the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) of classes XI and XII level including Polytechnics and other courses (any course of less than one-year duration not covered under this scheme. - All eligible candidates identifying as Transgender Persons will be considered for scholarship. As the number of scholarships for Transgender persons available in a year is fixed and limited, the selection of applications would be on the basis of total marks achieved in the previous academic year as reflected in the mark sheet. #### Terms and Conditions: - The scholarship is dependent on the satisfactory progress and conduct of the Transgender student. If it is reported by the Head of the Institution/School at any time that the student has by reasons of their own act of default failed to make satisfactory progress or has been guilty of misconduct such as resorting to or participating in strikes, irregularity in attendance without the permission of the authorities concerned, etc. The authority sanctioning the scholarship may either cancel the scholarship or stop or withhold further payment for such a period as it may dream fit. - If a student violates school discipline or any other terms and conditions of the scholarship, the scholarship may be suspended or cancelled. - If a student is found to have obtained a scholarship by false statement, his/her scholarship will be cancelled forthwith and the amount of the scholarship already paid will be recovered by the Ministry along with penal interest as per applicable rules. The student concerned will be blacklisted and debarred for future scholarships in any scheme forever. - A transgender student is liable to refund the scholarship amount, if during the course of the year, the studies for which the scholarship has been awarded, are discontinued by the student.