​De​en Dayal SPARSH Yojana​

Philately is the collection and study of Postage stamps. It also entails the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other related philatelic products. The hobby of collecting Stamps includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloguing, displaying, storing, and maintaining the stamps or related products on thematic areas. Stamp collection as a hobby has lot of educational benefits as it teaches a lot about the socio economic political reality of the period in which the stamp is issued or the theme on which it is issued. Maintaining a collection can be a relaxing activity that counteracts the stress of life, while providing a purposeful pursuit which prevents boredom. The hobby leads to social connect between people with similar interests and the development of new friendships. Collecting also hones the memory skills by working on the need of the human brain to catalogue and organize information and give meaning to ones actions.​

Reinforcing the efforts aimed towards increasing the reach of Philately, the Department of Posts is launching a Scholarship Scheme called Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana to award children in the class category of Standard VI to IX. Under the Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby or Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana it is proposed to award annual scholarships to those students who have good academic record and also pursue Philately as a hobby. ​

The objective of the scholarship is to "Promote Philately among children at a young age in a sustainable manner that can reinforce and supplement the academic curriculum in addition to providing a hobby that can help them relax and de-stress".

Selection:

 To avail this scholarship, a child must be a student of a recognized school within India and the concerned school should have a Philately Club and the candidate should be a member of the Club.

In case the school Philately Club hasn’t been established a student having his own Philately Deposit Account will also be considered.

 Every prospective school, which participates in the competition, would be assigned a Philately mentor to be chosen from amongst the renowned Philatelists.

The Philately mentor would help in formation of the School level Philately Club, providing guidance to young and aspiring Philatelists on how to pursue the hobby and also helping the aspiring Philatelists on their Philately Projects etc.

Selections under the scheme would be made based on the evaluation of Project work on Philately & performance in Philately Quiz conducted by the Circles.

Submission of application: Application for participation in the level-l written exam should be

submitted to the Superintendent/ Senior Superintendent of Postal Division, where school of the

student is situated, by registered post or speed post. Last date for submission / posting of application

is 3l't July, 2022. Application posted after 3l-07-2022 and applications posted through ordinary

posV private courier or by hand submission will not be entertained.