Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Odisha launched ‘Kalinga Sikshya Sathi Yojana’ scheme on Monday, June 27. The scheme is launched to provide financial aid to students who belong to the economically weaker section. It will ensure that students’ education are not held back because of a shortage of funds.
The state government aims to provide education loans to students in need at as low as one percent interest rates per annum. Students enrolling for higher education such as management, law, engineering, medicine, etc. can apply for loans under this scheme.
Rs 500 crore has been released by the state government from their funds to get the scheme running.
Naveen Patnaik said that the poor and middle-class sections of the society undergo a lot of financial pressure in terms of providing education to their children. He also said that the ‘historic and pioneering step’ taken by his government will unburden a lot of parents and help them in providing their children with quality higher education.
The scheme is dedicated to the memory of the former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik on his birth centenary.
Talking about the achievements of Biju Patnaik, Naveen Patnaik said that the Kalinga UNESCO award for the popularisation of science was introduced by the former CM at the age of 35 years.