Assam CM launches schemes for college students, literary bodies

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday launched two schemes to provide monetaryassistance to college students and literary bodies of thestate.

Under Pragyan Bharati scheme, 3,26,046 collegestudents were given Rs 1,500 each for purchasing text books,while a total of Rs 161 crore was reimbursed for freeadmission of 4 lakh eligible students.

The second scheme is Bhasha Gourab, under which thestate government provided 21 Sahitya Sabhas (literary bodies)with a total of Rs 43 crore as contribution towards theircorpus funds.

Under the scheme, 600 writers have also got Rs 50,000each to help in their literary activities.

The young generation must strive for knowledge througheducation and utilise the opportunity provided by the twoschemes, the chief minister said.

The state government is committed to provide highereducation to the poorest of the poor, he said.

Sonowal also urged parents and teachers to encouragethe younger generation to take part in sports and culturalactivities for their holistic development.

Literature is a reflection of the society and theAssam government is taking steps for providing financialassistance to writers and indigenous Sahitya Sabhas, he said.

Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said thatthe state government has taken steps for providing primaryeducation till Class V to all students in their mothertongues.

He also said about the state governments plan toprovide pocket money to college students in the near futureapart from the money provided for the purchase of textbooks.

Because of the relentless efforts of the stategovernment, Assam is at the second position in the country inthe index for educational development and also second in theperformance of taking education to the poor, Sarma added.