Bhubaneswar, Odisha: At the ‘Nu-O Festival’ held in Jajpur on February 13, 2024, V.K. Pandian, the chairperson of the Odisha Government’s transformative ‘5T’ vision comprising ‘Teamwork’, ‘Transparency’, ‘Time’ and ‘Technology’ leading to ‘Transformation’, and ‘Nabin Odisha’ initiatives, announced the launch of the NUA-O scholarship scheme. He clarified that this decision was made during the recent cabinet meeting led by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Under this scheme financial assistance will be provided to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the State of Odisha. This initiative aims to empower youth and encourage skill development including reskilling, and upskilling.
NUA-O Scholarship 2024: Key Features
- Eligibility: The scholarship scheme is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in State Universities, Government and Non-Government aided colleges, and Sanskrit colleges. However, students whose parents are income tax payers or government employees are not eligible to apply under this scholarship scheme.
- Financial Support: Male students will receive ₹9,000 annually, while female students will get ₹10,000 in the form of annual assistance. Students from SC/ST community and Nirman Shramik families will be provided monetary assistance of ₹10,000 meant for male, and ₹11,000 for female students respectively.
- Impact: Approximately 4,50,000 undergraduate and 32,000 postgraduate students are expected to benefit under the NUA-O scholarship programme.
- Deployment: An amount of ₹385 crore shall be allocated for the scheme that is applicable across 30 districts, prioritising tribal and remote areas.
- Funding for Current Year: Grants for the current academic year will be deposited directly into bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Odisha State Scholarship Portal 2024 – Check Updates Here
This NUA-O Scholarship scheme comes on the heels of another government initiative offering ₹1 lakh interest-free loans to 1,00,000 unemployed rural youths. Both initiatives demonstrate commitment of the Odisha Government to support youth empowerment and skill development in Odisha.
This initiative aligns with the Chief Minister’s vision of ‘Nabin Odisha’ (New Odisha) and aims to extend financial support to students. As part of the programme, a corpus of ₹300 crore will be created. Additionally, by the month of August 2024, eligible students will receive ‘Nua-O magic smart cards’ offering further benefits including bus or train travel, access to free WiFi, online courses, skill development and coaching programmes.
The timeline for the NUA-O Scholarship 2024 is yet-to-be announced.The interested students are advised to visit the State Scholarship Portal, Government of Odisha for information related to eligibility, awards, application form, etc.
