Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches the revolutionary Nua-O scholarship scheme

Bhubaneswar, 26 February 2024 : As per direction of Chief Minister Sh. Naveen Patnaik, Chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha Sh. Kartik Pandian visited Sambalpur, Angul and Deogarh District today.

He attended the Nua-O Scholarship Distribution Programme in these districts where he interacted with the students from *57 colleges* of Sambalpur, Angul and Deogarh District and informed the students about the Nua -O Scholarship under which all eligible PG and UG Students from State govt. Universities, Govt Colleges, non-Govt aided and unaided Colleges will be benefitted. The scholarship amount for General and OBC male and female students is Rs. 9,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively whereas for SC/ST and Nirman Shramik male and female students it is 10,000 and Rs 11,000 respectively.

Sh. Pandian informed that *13,423* students from *21* colleges of *Sambalpur* district; *11,265* students from *25* colleges of *Angul* district and *3,424* students from *11* colleges of *Deogarh* district will get their scholarship amount in their bank accounts today. With this, *Rs. 28.00 Crores* sanctioned for *28,112* nos. of students from these three districts. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship Sanction Orders to the students.

He conveyed the message of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who wished the students all the best for their future and said that this initiative would help to achieve the dream of Nua Odisha.

Sh Pandian said that the decade of 2024-34 will be the era of the youth, who will be empowered  by the state government to achieve the goal of Nua Odisha. Like the empowerment initiatives for women through Mission Shakti, in the next 10 years major interventions for youth engagement, empowerment and development will be implemented. Already the process as started through the college transformation projects across the state. In this context, the NuaO program has been launched last year and has been a major success and as a next step the Nua-O scholarship program has been launched.

Sh Kartik Pandian said that the government’s next major initiative will be to cover *all the students* through the launching of the  futuristic *Nabin Odisha Magic Card*, a points- system based smart card which will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic development, personality development, skill development and employment. It will create a platform for the youth to aspire and achieve their dreams. It will be encouraging and empowering the youth by providing physical and digital access to resources which will help them in their career growth and personality development.

This card will be a *“Passport to Prosperity”*. Based on points earned through various activities and parameters the cards will be upgraded to *Silver, Gold and Platinum level. The Cards will be allotted and upgraded based on the performance of student in terms of attendance, discipline, academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities, sports, online courses, personality development courses etc.

Every involvement of the student will be measured, honoured and valued. Their academic achievements, creativity, sports achievements, social/community work, etc. will be recognised and appreciated through this points-system.

These cards can provide access to various facilities like – *Bus/Train/Flights concession; access to Phone/ Data recharge and Wi-Fi ; e-libraries; Online Academic courses ; Personality development courses and workshops ; Coaching Centres and Tuition classes; Skill Development courses ; Career counselling; Language courses including Odia and English; “Earn While You Learn” opportunities; Volunteering opportunities; Access to stadiums during the national and international tournaments; Access to Journals and Seminars; Access to tourist places, Museums, etc.*

This card will also provide *Job and Placement opportunities* through sharing of this data with the potential recruiting companies-A LinkedIn type platform for the students to interact with the industry and will integrate with the *Start Up ecosystem* to encourage the students to aspire to be entrepreneurs and also to provide *priority loans for the students* under various schemes like Swayam etc. Government will actively engage with the private sector to provide more benefits to the students through these smart cards.

Sh Kartik Pandian said that the Government will take further inputs from the students and teachers on the various activities which can be included in this points-system. The Card will be completely technology driven and will be a revolutionary concept towards youth engagement and empowerment.

Online registration portal for this card will be launched on *March 5th,2024.* And the distribution of the card will be on August 15th.

He interacted with the students during the program. The students were excited and thrilled to receive the sanction orders and also immediately after the launch of the program, they received the SMS from banks that the amount has been credited to their accounts. They thanked the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Sh Kartik Pandian, Chairman, for the initiative and such speedy execution within a short period of time after the announcement of the program.

This initiative while revolutionising the career progress and personality development of students will also help build a new Odisha – aspirational , modern and progressive .