Bhubaneswar: The Cabinet on Friday approved the implementation of the new scheme NUA-O Scholarship for students in higher education institutions in the state which are under the administrative control of the higher education department.
Under the scheme, students will get an annual scholarship of Rs 9,000 (boys) and Rs 10,000 (girls). Similarly, SC and ST students and children of construction workers will get scholarship at a higher rate of Rs 10,000 and Rs 11,000 for male and female respectively in undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The NUA-O Scholarship Scheme involves a total outlay of Rs 3,701.08 crore over a period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
Students already availing scholarship under KALIA Scheme for professional and technical courses will not be eligible for assistance under the new scheme. Similarly, students whose parents are paying income tax or are employed as regular employees of the state government are also excluded.
The Cabinet also approved a new scheme for the welfare of handloom weavers and handicraft artisans – Mukhyamantri Barista Bunkar and Karigar Sahayata Yojana. Under the scheme, a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 will be provided to eligible weavers and their supporting workers besides handicraft artisans in the age group of 40 to 80 years in case of women and 50 to 80 years in case of male beneficiaries. Under the scheme, weavers, support workers and handicraft artisans in the age group of 80 years and above (both male and female) will be provided an assistance of Rs 2,500 per month by the state government.
Only weavers and artisans whose annual income is Rs 1 lakh or less will be eligible for financial assistance. Earlier, the government had provided assistance of Rs 500 per month to more than 1.25 lakh weavers and supporting workers under the Barishta Weavers Assistance Scheme. However, there are more than 1,50,000 handicraft artisans in the state who were not covered under any such scheme. This prompted the government to launch a new scheme that covers both.
