PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 27 -- Nearly eight months into the 2025-26 academic session, which began on April 1, around 70,000 students across Uttar Pradesh are still awaiting their scholarships under the Sanskrit Scholarship Scheme. With the application process yet to begin, students from Class 6 to postgraduate levels remain uncertain about when the financial assistance will finally reach them. Though chief minister Yogi Adityanath formally launched the scheme on October 27, 2024, at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) in Varanasi, distributing Rs.5.86 crore to 69,195 Sanskrit students, officials acknowledge that not a single student has received the benefit so far this year. More than 70,000 students enrolled in 403 government-aided Sanskrit colleges and 570 Sanskrit secondary schools are currently stalled, as their master data has not yet been uploaded to the scholarship portal. Officials attribute the delay to this year's shift to a fully online system for scholarship disbursal. The secondary education department has already revised the schedule twice. Initially, the deadline for locking master data was October 17, with scholarship transfers slated for completion by December 6. However, a fresh order issued on November 25 by director (secondary education) Mahendra Dev extended the data-locking deadline to December 5. Scholarship transfers will now begin only on January 14, 2026. For the 2025-26 session, the state government has allocated Rs.20 crore for Sanskrit scholarships, double last year's Rs.10 crore allocation. Of the previous year's funds, only about Rs.6 crore could be disbursed. Under the scheme, students receive monthly scholarships: Rs.50 for Classes 6-7, Rs.75 for Class 8, Rs.100 for Classes 9-10, Rs.150 for Classes 11-12, Rs.200 for undergraduate students, and Rs.250 for postgraduate students. Eligibility requires at least 75% attendance and a minimum of 50% marks in the previous class. Officials stated the data-upload process is progressing. In the Prayagraj division, master data for 52 of 70 Sanskrit colleges and 124 of 145 Sanskrit secondary schools had been locked as of November 24. According to RN Vishwakarma, joint director of education (secondary), the remaining work will be completed within the extended deadline....