Ranchi, Jan 11 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday said education is the key to the state’s development and has been a major focus area of his government.
Soren said this while interacting with several beneficiaries of the Guruji Students Credit Card scheme here on the occasion of the 82nd birth anniversary of his father and former chief minister Shibu Soren, who was called ‘Guruji’ by his followers.
The CM launched the ‘Grassroots Innovation Internship Scheme’, under which a two-month internship programme will be provided to graduate and postgraduate students.
“Education is the key to the state’s development. When youths in villages are educated and moving forward with self-reliance, then only our state will be developed,” he said, adding that the future of the state lies with the students.
“Many meritorious students are not able to achieve their dreams due to financial crunch. Keeping this in mind, the government launched the Guruji Students Credit Card scheme to help them financially,” Soren said.
The credit card scheme was launched two years back with an objective to provide financial help to students who want to pursue higher education, engineering, medical and others, an official said. A student can avail up to Rs 15 lakh loan at an interest of 4 per cent.
The EMI starts one year after completion of the course, and the government is the guarantor for the scheme, he said.
Principal Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education department Rahul Purwar said the loan under the scheme has been given to 2,430 beneficiaries till now, and Rs 200 crore has been disbursed.
Around Rs 12 crore loan has been sanctioned for 55 students on Sunday, he said.
The CM said Jharkhand is the first state in the country to provide education loans of up to Rs 15 lakh at a nominal interest rate.
He told the students: “We want to place you in a position where you can prove yourselves to be the best in any competition, whether it’s at the national or international level.” Soren said his government has taken several major steps in the field of education.
“Apart from the Guruji Students Credit Card scheme, we have also initiated schemes for 100 per cent scholarships for higher education abroad, established libraries in all districts and CM Schools of Excellence,” he said.
Children from tribal and Dalit communities are now pursuing higher education abroad, something that was previously just a dream for them, the chief minister said.
Soren launched the ‘Grassroots Innovation Internship Scheme’, which will provide graduate and postgraduate students with the opportunity to work in rural areas alongside their studies, an official said. They will get a stipend of Rs 10,000 as an incentive.
Remembering the contributions of his father to the creation of Jharkhand, Soren said, “Baba is not among us today, but his ideals, thoughts, struggles, sacrifices, and dedication will always remain alive.” The CM also launched a chatbot and the dashboard for Guruji Students Credit Card and handed over the first installment of Rs 25,000 to 23 research scholars under the CM fellowship scheme on the occasion. PTI SAN NN
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