3,950 OBC students to be awarded scholarships soon: Minister Santana Chakma

The state OBC welfare minister Santana Chakma on Thursday claimed that the process is being expedited for disbursement of scholarships to the students of Other Backward Class (OBC).

Addressing a press conference here in the conference hall of the civil secretariat, the minister said, “At least 3,950 students will be awarded scholarships worth Rs 59.25 lakh, while the government has received 25,696 applications for Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC students whose families have an annual income within Rs 2.5 lakh this year.”

She said that the OBC Welfare Department has received 20,073 applications for post-matric scholarships this year, out of which 7,540 candidates were selected for the scholarship. The scholarship would be disbursed soon, she told reporters.

“One-time financial support is also being provided for economically weaker OBC students and that 669 applications were received in the category last financial year,” she said, adding that candidates with above 50 per cent marks and whose annual family income is below Rs 2.5 lakh are eligible for the scholarship.

She further stated that the department has set a target of 200 OBC students with best academic performance for this scholarship this year and they will get Rs 50,000 per year for two years.

The minister said a host of other social welfare schemes such as Vidyasagar Socio-Cultural Award, Atma Nirbhar scheme and other benefits for people having acumen in sports, literacy, animal husbandry, pisciculture, self-employment initiatives and social welfare activities are being rolled out for people and said the BJP-led state government is providing social security benefits to people from the OBC community under its mandate of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’.