As of December 18, 2025, data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query shows that around 1.42 lakh students who applied for 14 government scholarship schemes over the last five years are still awaiting disbursement. Of these, 75,000 applications are pending at the college level, while 67,000 are held up with the higher education department, state records show. 

The delay persists eight years after the Maharashtra government introduced the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, MahaDBT, a centralised online portal aimed at enabling direct transfer of scholarship benefits to students. While the platform was launched to improve transparency and efficiency, the process continues to face persistent delays.