The Centre has launched various schemes, scholarships and programmes to benefit students. Many of these schemes have been introduced to give preference to meritorious students from low-income group, youth or children of ex-servicemen. The following are some of the schemes introduced by the government lately.
PM Vidyalaxmi scheme
The Union Cabinet approved the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme in November to provide monetary support to meritorious students for pursuing higher education. An allocation of Rs 3,600 crore has been approved for the same by the government to cover more than 22 lakh students every year. The scheme has been designed for meritorious students from low-income groups. As per the plan, students who get admission to Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) will be eligible to get collateral-free, guarantor-free loans from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course.
PM SHRI scheme
Prime Minister's Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, launched on September 7, 2022, is an ambitious scheme of the Modi government to impart high-quality education to students and equip them with 21st-century skills, in order to make them ‘future-ready'. The flagship scheme, with an outlay of Rs 27,000 for five years – to be shared by the Centre and states will work towards upgrading about 14,500 schools into ‘exemplar' institutions across the country. Under the scheme, Centrally operated, state govt-run schools along with Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs) are set to upgraded into ‘model' schools, pan India.
PM Internship Scheme 2024
The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme in top companies has been announced in the Budget 2024-25 (Scheme). It aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in top 500 companies in five years. Through this scheme, youth will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environment, across varied professions and employment opportunities.
Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme
Prime Minister's Scholarship Scheme was introduced in the academic year 2006-07 by the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, to encourage higher technical and professional education for the dependent wards of Ex-Servicemen / Ex-Coast Guard personnel and their widows. A total number of 5500 (2750 Boys and 2750 Girls) wards / widows of Ex-servicemen are selected for the scholarship in each academic year. Scholarship amount is paid annually to the selected students for a period of one to five years as per the duration of the courses approved by the concerned regulatory bodies. The amount of the scholarship is Rs 2,500 per month for boys and Rs 3,000 per month for girls.
