Maharashtra: Cabinet nod for scholarships to 75 students for research in mangroves and marine biodiversity

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to provide scholarships to a total of 75 students over a period of three years for carrying out research in mangroves and marine biodiversity in prestigious universities abroad.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that as part of this exercise, every year 25 students will be given scholarships by the forest department's Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation. These scholarships will be given to students who have taken admissions in educational institutions abroad which are within 150th ranking of Times Higher education (THE) or Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The statement said 30 per cent of these scholarships will be given to female students.

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Of these 25 students, 15 will be post-graduate and 10 PhD students from the fields of marine science, marine ecology, oceanography, marine biology, marine biotechnology, microbiology, biodiversity subjects. The minimum age of post-graduate students should not exceed 35, while for the PhD students, it should not be more than 40. Their annual income limit should not be more than Rs 8 lakh, the statement said.

The scheme will cost the government Rs 31.50 crore. Every year, the Mangrove Foundation will issue advertisements for the scholarship in April or May. In another decision, the cabinet gave its green signal to implement a solid waste management project on ICT (information and communications technology) in all urban local bodies. The cabinet approved a proposal to set up the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Facilities Development Corporation to look after maintenance and quality of roads.

The equity of the corporation will be Rs 100 crore and 51 per cent share will be of the state government. Of the three lakh km roads in the state, one lakh km roads are with the public works department (PWD). In another decision, the cabinet gave its nod to waive entertainment tax for the period starting from the time of Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation from September 16, 2017 till the authority to recover this tax was given to the local bodies.