Bhubaneswar: As per direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman Kartik Pandian visited Khurda and Begunia Tuesday.
He attended the Nua-O Scholarship distribution programmes at both these places where he interacted with students from 30 colleges of Khurda district. During the interaction, he informed the students about the Nua-O Scholarship under which all eligible PG and UG students of state government universities, government colleges, and non-government-aided and unaided colleges will benefit.
The scholarship amount for general and OBC male and female students is Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively whereas for SC/ST and Nirman Shramik male and female students it is Rs 10,000 and Rs 11,000 respectively.
On the occasion, Pandian said that 16,613 students from Khurda district will get the scholarship amount in their bank accounts by the end of the day. “With this, a total of Rs 16.13 crore has been sanctioned for 16,613 students,” he said while distributing Nua-O Scholarship ‘Sanction Orders’ to the students.
The 5T Chairman conveyed to students message from the chief minister who had wished the students best for their future. “This initiative would help you achieve the dream of Nua Odisha,” he said.
He said that the government’s next major initiative will be to cover all the students through futuristic Nabin Odisha Magic Card, a points-system-based smart card which will enable the youths to pursue academic excellence, personality, skill development and employment.
Based on points earned through various activities and parameters, the cards will be upgraded to silver, gold and platinum levels.
“Cards will be allotted and upgraded based on the performance of students in terms of attendance, discipline, academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities, sports, online courses, personality development courses etc,” he said.
The 5T Chairman said that the government will take inputs from students and teachers on activities that can also be included in this points system. “The card will be completely technology driven and will be a revolutionary concept towards youth engagement and empowerment,” he said.
Notably, online registration portal for this card will be launched March 5. All the students of the UG and PG courses will be eligible for registration and distribution of the card will start August 15th.
During the interaction, the students expressed their excitement to 5T Chairman about receiving the sanction orders. Immediately after the launch of the programme, they reported receiving messages from the bank about transfer of the scholarship amount to their accounts.
PNN