New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has chosen 60 schoolchildren to be trained and mentored at institutes of excellence across the country in their chosen fields of arts and science, under a new scheme.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development launched the scheme, ‘DHRUV — Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme’, in Bengaluru Thursday.
The programme is named after Dhruv, the Earth’s pole star that is supposed to be the brightest in the sky and one that stays nearly still on its position.
To begin with, the ministry has selected 60 children from schools across India for the programme. These students — 30 from science and 30 from the arts stream — will brainstorm on challenges such as global warming, glacial meltdown, water conservation, and agricultural issues.
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The first batch of 60 students comprises students with talent in areas ranging from singing and dancing to mathematics and physics. The students have been selected on the basis of their performance in the National Talent Search Examinations (NTSE) and other competitions. The ministry will now conduct sessions to get these children mentored in their chosen fields.
Sources said the scheme will help in sharpening innovative imagination power of the children along with their knowledge. The scheme also aims to help the students contribute towards arriving at solutions to socio-economic, environmental and political issues currently faced by the country.
According to HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, this is part of the government’s push towards India’s quest to become a $5 trillion economy. After training, the minister said, these students will be capable to contribute and provide solutions to climate change.
The programme was launched at an event at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru Thursday and will conclude at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on 23 October.
ISRO Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan, Prime Minister’s Principal Scientific Advisor Professor K Vijayraghavan and the first Indian man in space Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma were present at the event.
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