Government extends benefits of eight schemes to Marathas

3 min readMumbaiJun 6, 2026 11:22 AM IST

The cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation met earlier this week, after Maratha social activist Manoj Jarange-Patil called off his fast unto death. (file)

Days after announcing to set up a special cell for Maratha reservation and a helpline number for assistance, the state government on Friday extended benefits of around eight schemes applicable to OBCs to the Maratha community as well.

The “Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme” applicable to the Other Backward Class (OBC) category in the state will be applicable to students from the Maratha community.

The cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation met earlier this week, after Maratha social activist Manoj Jarange-Patil called off his fast unto death. After the end of the fast, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said, “The government is committed to Maratha reservation. At the same time, it has ensured the OBC quota is not diluted. You don’t take reservation from one community to give to another.” He had added that the government has initiated several welfare measures for the Maratha community. The Maratha sub-committee headed by BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil met earlier this week where various measures were announced. On Friday, the state government announced additional set of measures.

The training scheme for motor vehicle drivers and conductors to be implemented by the Planning Department through the SARATHI institute; the scholarship scheme applicable to students of primary, secondary, and higher secondary classes from the OBC category will be made applicable to students from the Maratha community; the scheme applicable to OBC candidates for seats available under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) scheme in government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), as well as for candidates admitted to private Industrial Training Institutes, will be implemented as the “Professional Training Fee Reimbursement Scheme” for students of the Maratha community by the Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The government has asked the concerned department to take action to extend the reimbursement scheme regarding 16 other items, which is applicable to students from the OBC category studying in aided and unaided colleges, to students from the Maratha community as well. The scheme applicable to candidates from the OBC category, who are residents of Maharashtra and have taken admission for aided and unaided professional courses in other states, to students from the Maratha community as well.

For all courses where students from the OBC category are eligible to receive educational concessions and facilities, students from the Maratha community shall also be eligible to receive these educational concessions and facilities.

Just like the students from the OBC category who have taken admission at the institutional level against vacant seats approved by the Admission Regulating Authority after the completion of the Centralized Admission Process (CAP), students from the Maratha community will also be granted educational concessions.