Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet on Friday approved the implementation of the new scheme ‘NUA-O Scholarship’ aimed at facilitating higher education opportunities for students across the state in State Universities, Government and non-government-aided colleges including aided Sanskrit colleges and unaided private colleges taking admission through SAMS under the administrative control of Higher Education Department.

According to an official press release, students will receive an annual scholarship of Rs 9000 for boys and Rs 10,000 for girls. Students from SC/ST communities and children of construction workers pursuing UG/PG as above will get scholarships at higher rates of 10,000 and 11000 for male and female students respectively.

If any student avails scholarship/financial assistance under the KALIA scheme for professional and technical courses will not be entitled. Students whose either of parents is an income tax payee or is liable to pay income tax or either of the parents is employed as a regular employee in Government/PSUs/other government agencies/ autonomous bodies or receiving the grant as a direct payment or block grant in case of educational institutions will not be eligible for this scholarship.

The scheme entails a total outlay of Rs 3701.08 crore over 5 years from 2023-24 to 2027-28. This landmark initiative reflects the government’s unwavering commitment to fostering inclusive and high-quality education, ensuring no deserving student is left out due to financial constraints.