GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched two schemes to provide monetary assistance to college students and literary bodies of the state on Monday.
The schemes are named Pragyan Bharati and Bhasha Gourab.
Under Pragyan Bharati scheme, 3,26,046 college students were given Rs 1,500 each for purchasing textbooks. A total of Rs 161 crore was reimbursed for the free admission of 4 lakh eligible students.
On the other hand, under the Bhasha Gourab second scheme, the state government provided 21 Sahitya Sabhas with a total of Rs 43 crore as a contribution towards their corpus funds. Under this scheme, 600 authors have been provided with an amount of Rs 50,000 each to help in their literary activities.
The chief minister took to Twitter to announce the launch of both schemes.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sonowal urged the younger generation to do their utmost for knowledge through education and utilise the opportunity provided by the two schemes.
The Chief Minister also added that the state government is committed in their aim to provide higher education to the poorest of the poor.
CM Sonowal also urged parents and teachers to encourage the younger generation to take part in sports and cultural activities for their overall rounded development.
He further added that literature is a reflection of the society and the state government is taking steps for providing financial assistance to writers and indigenous Sahitya Sabhas.
Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government has taken steps for providing primary education till Class V to all students in their mother tongues.
He also said the state government plans to provide pocket money to college students in the near future apart from the money provided to them for procuring textbooks.
He further added that with the continued and relentless efforts of the state government towards education, Assam is at the second position in the country in the index for educational development and also second in the performance of taking education to the poor.