E-Grantz Revolution

This short commentary is about the introduction of e-grantz, an online scheme of distribution of educational assistance to dalit students in Kerala. At the time of admission to a course, students fill up an application form to open a savings bank account with State Bank of India. This is a No Frills Account, which does not insist on retaining a minimum balance. An important aspect of the new scheme is that the student can track his/her application on the internet and gain information on its status and progress, which led to the easy access and delivery of benefits. The commentary describes the problems that the dalit students had to face before the e-grantz scheme was implemented and the benefits that they can get from the new technology. [Malayalam commentary].