Bhubaneswar: As per the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha Kartik Pandian visited Sambalpur, Angul and Deogarh districts today.
Pandian attended the Nua-O Scholarship Distribution Programme in these districts where he interacted with the students from 57 colleges of Sambalpur, Angul and Deogarh districts and informed the students about the Nua-O Scholarship under which all eligible PG and UG Students from State government Universities, Government Colleges, non-Government aided and unaided Colleges will be benefitted. 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.
Pandian informed that 13,423 students from 21 colleges of Sambalpur district; 11,265 students from 25 colleges of Angul district and 3,424 students from 11 colleges of Deogarh district will get their scholarship amount in their bank accounts today. With this, Rs 28.00 Crores was sanctioned for 28,112 nos. of students from these three districts. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship Sanction Orders to the students.
He conveyed the message of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who wished the students all the best for their future and said that this initiative would help to achieve the dream of Nua Odisha.
Pandian said that the decade of 2024-34 will be the era of the youth, who will be empowered by the state government to achieve the goal of Nua Odisha. Like the empowerment initiatives for women through Mission Shakti, in the next 10 years, major interventions for youth engagement, empowerment and development will be implemented. Already the process has started through the college transformation projects across the state. In this context, the Nua-O program was launched last year and has been a major success and as a next step the Nua-O scholarship program has been launched.
Pandian 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 which will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic development, personality development, skill development and employment. It will create a platform for the youth to aspire and achieve their dreams. It will encourage and empower the youth by providing physical and digital access to resources which will help them in their career growth and personality development.
This card will be a “Passport to Prosperity”. Based on points earned through various activities and parameters the cards will be upgraded to *Silver, Gold and Platinum level. The 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.
Every involvement of the student will be measured, honoured and valued. Their academic achievements, creativity, sports achievements, social/community work, etc. will be recognized and appreciated through this points system.
These cards can provide access to various facilities like – Bus/Train/Flight concession; access to Phone/ Data recharge and Wi-Fi; e-libraries; Online Academic courses; Personality development courses and workshops; Coaching Centres and Tuition classes; Skill Development courses; Career counselling; Language courses including Odia and English; “Earn While You Learn” opportunities; Volunteering opportunities; Access to stadiums during the national and international tournaments; Access to Journals and Seminars; Access to tourist places, Museums, etc.
This card will also provide Job and Placement opportunities through the sharing of this data with the potential recruiting companies-A LinkedIn type platform for the students to interact with the industry and will integrate with the Start Up ecosystem to encourage the students to aspire to be entrepreneurs and also to provide priority loans for the students under various schemes like Swayam etc. The government will actively engage with the private sector to provide more benefits to the students through these smart cards.
Pandian said that the Government will take further inputs from the students and teachers on the various activities which can be included in this points system. The Card will be completely technology-driven and will be a revolutionary concept towards youth engagement and empowerment.
Online registration portal for this card will be launched on March 5th, 2024. And the distribution of the card will be on August 15th.
He interacted with the students during the program. The students were excited and thrilled to receive the sanction orders and also immediately after the launch of the program, they received an SMS from banks that the amount has been credited to their accounts. They thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Kartik Pandian, Chairman, for the initiative and such speedy execution within a short period of time after the announcement of the program.
This initiative while revolutionizing the career progress and personality development of students will also help build a new Odisha – aspirational, modern and progressive.
