- By Kamal Kumar
- Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:31 AM (IST)
- Source:ANI
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Thursday, gifted 35770 scooters to girls and boys who scored above 60 and 75 per cent respectively in class 12th examination in the state. Given as an incentive to meritorious students, these gifts fall under the ambitious Pragyan Bharati scheme instituted in memory of the great litterateur and linguist Banikanta Kakati.
The scheme entered its sixth year in 2023.
Also Read: Why City Of Ayutthaya Is Known As Thailand's Ayodhya And How It’s Connected To Lord Ram? | Explained
Addressing the event, CM Sarma said that the state government is dedicated to empowering the youth through education. In fulfilment of their commitment to facilitating seamless educational opportunities, the government initiated the distribution of scooters to meritorious students who achieved 60 and 75 per cent in the higher secondary examinations of 2023, respectively.
"I sincerely hope the scooty presented in recognition of the good academic performance of the students will motivate them to do better in the future as well," the CM added.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also gave a brief overview of Kakati, who contributed immensely to the language in terms of literature, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. Therefore, by helping the meritorious students in the state pursue their studies, the government is paying rich homage to Kakati, CM Sarma added.
CM Sarma also said that Assam's Pragyan Bharati scheme has also been intended to subsidise household expenditure on higher education. Therefore, the scope of this scheme in the coming days will be expanded to include free scooters, free textbooks and subsidised hostel fees.
It may be noted that for the current financial year 2023-24, the Government of Assam has decided to provide scooters to 35,770 eligible students, of which 30,203 are girl students who secured first division and 5,567 are boy students who secured above 75 per cent and above in the Higher Secondary Examination conducted by the AHSEC during the year 2023.
The estimated financial outlay earmarked for the scheme is Rs 25954.29 lakh.
(With inputs from ANI)
