Hyderabad- The Telangana government has taken a compassionate step to support Badavath Madhulatha, a tribal student who secured a place at IIT-Patna but was unable to afford the high fees despite her outstanding entrance exam performance.

Madhulatha, who had to graze cattle to support her family of landless agricultural laborers, faced a daunting financial barrier.

Madhulatha achieved a commendable rank of 824 in the JEE Mains under the ST (Scheduled Tribe) category and was offered admission into the Engineering Physics (B.Tech) program at IIT-Patna.

However, she required over ₹2.5 lakhs to cover her educational expenses. Her family needed to pay ₹2,51,831 to IIT-Patna by July 27 to secure her admission.

This amount includes:

• Academic Fee: ₹20,000

• Hostel Academic Fee: ₹5,000

• Tuition Fee: ₹1,00,000

• Hostel: ₹6,500

• Other Institute Resources: ₹14,000

• Gymkhana: ₹5,000

• Transport: ₹1,500

• Mess Fee: ₹19,031

• Health Insurance: ₹2,000

• Laptop: ₹70,000

• To and Fro Charges: ₹8,800

Total Amount Required: ₹2,51,831

Of the total amount required, the institution will waive ₹1,00,000 in tuition fees for SC/ST category students.

On July 23, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced that the state government will cover the remaining ₹1,51,831.

The Commissioner of Tribal Welfare directed the Telangana Scheduled Tribes Cooperative Finance Corporation Ltd (TRICOR), Hyderabad to release this amount to the District Tribal Welfare Officer’s bank account in Rajanna Sircilla, where Madhulatha resides.

However, Lingam Bukya, a former teacher of Badavath at Tribal Welfare Junior College, informed TNM that the funds currently approved will cover only the first year of her four-year course. “The family anticipates that the total expenses will reach around ₹5 lakhs and is considering seeking additional donations. We hope the state government will step in again if necessary,” he said.

He also noted that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders in Rajanna Sircilla, the constituency of BRS leader KT Rama Rao from the recent Assembly elections, have been in contact with the family.