Prime Minister Narendra Modi led new NDA government has announced scholarships for 5 crore Indian students from the minority communities. Reports say 50% of the scholarships are reserved exclusively for the girls from minority communities.
What are the announcements made by the Union Minister?
The announcement of this scholarship was done at New Delhi’s Antyodaya Bhawan after Maulana Azad Education Foundation’s governing body and general body meetings. These meetings were chaired by the Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and the announcements were as under:
– Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that the scholarships will be available for the coming 5-years for a wide array of courses including technical, professional, pre-matric, and post-matric studies.
– While outlining the objective behind this scholarship scheme, Naqvi said that these scholarships are meant for ensuring “socio-economic-educational empowerment of minorities especially girls through ‘3Es- Education, Employment and Empowerment’.”
– He went on to say that these scholarships will help in creating an environment of inclusive growth, not through appeasement politics. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also believes that these new scholarships for the minority community will help in eradication of communalism.
– The economically weaker sections of the minority community will also be provided with over 10 lakh Begum Hazrat Mahal girls’ scholarships in the coming 5-years.
– India’s reputed educational institutions will also offer bridge courses for those girls from the minority community who dropped out of school. The bridge courses will help in linking education and employment.
– For enabling Madrassa teachers to provide mainstream education to the students of the madrassa, the teachers of these Islamic institutions will be provided with special training in mainstream subjects such as Computer, Science, Maths, English, and Hindi.
– Under Pradhanmantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK), the educational infrastructure (including schools, hostels for girls, polytechnics, colleges, common service centres, and gurukul-type residential schools) is being created on a war-footing. This is done in areas where educational infrastructure is either weak or non-existent.
– The Union government is all set to launch its ‘Padho-Badho’ awareness campaign next month for encouraging education, especially among minority community girls. The emphasis will be given to areas where minority girl students are not sent to schools. This campaign will include many forms including cultural programmes, short films, and street plays (also called “Nukkad Natak”). The minister announced that the first phase of the campaign will focus on 60 districts of India where the concentration of minorities is high.
– The weaker sections of the minority communities (be it Muslims, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, or Christians) will also be provided with free coaching for different types of competitive services including railways, staff selection commission, banking, and administrative services (central as well as state).
Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme: Major Changes Approved by the New Cabinet
Modi Cabinet 2.0 has approved certain big changes in the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme and the most important ones are:
– The scholarship rates have been increased for both boys and girls:
- For Boys: From Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 2,500 per month
- For Girls: From Rs. 2,250 to Rs. 3,000 per month
– The Scholarship Scheme’s (under National Defence Fund) ambit has been extended to the wards of the martyred State Police officials, who are either killed during terrorist attacks or Naxal attacks. This cabinet decision has been hailed by the IPS (Indian Police Service) Association.
– The quota for new scholarship for state police officials’ wards will be 500 in a year.
Conclusion
The new scholarship schemes announced by Narendra Modi will be directed towards inclusive growth of the diversified Indian society and bring in a humane touch to the distressed.
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