Rajasthan govt scholarship for higher studies abroad will continue: Minister Avinash Gehlot

NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan government scholarship to meritorious students for higher studies abroad will not be stopped, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot said on Friday.

Responding to a supplementary asked by a member during the Question Hour, Gehlot told the assembly that earlier the scheme was called the 'Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship for Academic Excellence' which has now been rechristened as the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship for Academic Excellence.

The supplementary was asked after Gehlot, in a written reply to the original question by MLA Indra Meena, said there is no proposal under consideration now to discontinue the scholarship scheme run for students studying abroad.

Gehlot said earlier this scheme aimed to benefit only 500 students every year, but the number has now been increased by the BJP government. The change has been made with a view to improve the future of eight lakh students pursuing higher education in colleges in the state, he said.

The scheme has also been modified with the aim of giving benefits to meritorious students of the needy class instead of the children of influential people. The students will be selected on the basis of merit, he said.

The minister also said the previous government made no effort to obtain the outstanding scholarship amount for Scheduled Tribe students from the Central government.

Due to the efforts of the present government, proposals worth Rs 658.81 crore, including Rs 401.39 crore and earlier outstanding Rs 257.42 crore, were sent to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Out of this, Rs 220 crore has been received and transferred by the state government to the accounts of eligible students, he said, adding the remaining amount will also be obtained from the Central government soon. Meanwhile, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sumit Godara told the assembly that about 4.35 crore people in Rajasthan are getting the benefit of the National Food Security Act.

He was answering supplementaries asked by members during the Question Hour on Friday. He said the process to add about two lakh more beneficiaries is underway. Currently, 13.90 lakh applications are pending out of which about seven lakh will be added soon due to the limitation on numbers, he said.