Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal

The Backward Classes Welfare Department under the Government of West Bengal is a state-level administrative body dedicated to the social, educational, and economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes communities across the state. The department designs, funds, and administers welfare schemes that aim to bridge developmental gaps and promote inclusive growth among historically disadvantaged groups. A core focus area of the department is education, where it administers a wide range of pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes for SC, ST, and OBC students studying in West Bengal. These scholarships are disbursed through the integrated Online Application for Scholarship (OASIS) portal, which streamlines applications, verification, and direct benefit transfers to student bank accounts. Beyond scholarships, the department issues caste certificates through the OSCAR portal, supports skill development initiatives, runs hostels for SC and ST students, and coordinates with district welfare offices to deliver entitlements to beneficiaries at the grassroots. Its work is guided by both central government schemes and West Bengal state-funded supplementary programmes. The department functions from the state administrative complex in Salt Lake, Kolkata and operates through a network of district magistrates, sub-divisional officers, and block development officers who handle field-level verification, beneficiary outreach, and grievance redressal across all districts of West Bengal.