Bhubaneswar: Acting on the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman VK Pandian on Sunday visited Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Bargarh districts.
He attended the Nua-O Scholarship distribution programme at Dharmagarh in Kalahandi and Titilagarh in Bolangir and in Bargarh districts where he interacted with the students from the respective districts.
Pandian informed that 37,160 eligible students from 80 colleges of Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Bargarh districts will get the scholarship. A sum of Rs. 36.81 crore has been sanctioned for 37,160 students from these districts. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship sanction orders to the students.
The 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman conveyed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s message that the youth should dream big and work hard towards achieving their potential. The government will ensure that the youth are provided with the support to achieve their goals.
He said that the government’s next major initiative will be to cover all the students through the launching of the futuristic Nabin Odisha Magic Card, a points system-based smart card that will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic, personality and, skill development and will reduce the financial burden on parents, create opportunities for career progression and employment.
The online registration portal for this card will be launched on March 5, 2024. All UG and PG students without any income criteria will be eligible for the card and the distribution of the card will begin on August 15. Pandian said that the Chief Minister decided based on suggestions submitted by the workers and their representatives to 5T Chairman VK Pandian during his visits to different places in the state earlier.
