The UPA Government continued playing its aam aadmi card on Thursday when it approved a substantial scaling up of a centrally sponsored scheme for providing post-matric scholarships to students from Scheduled Castes.

The Government had spent about Rs 1,822 crore in the Tenth Five Year Plan on the scheme that benefited 1.16 crore students. Last week, the Cabinet had cleared the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana to be launched on Gandhi Jayanti.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, “In the Eleventh Five Year Plan, the outlay has almost been tripled to Rs 5,000 crore. A crucial modification has also been made in the scheme that was only available to students getting admission in Government colleges. Now, the Government will also pay the fees for students gaining free seats in private educational institutions for which selection is done on merit basis.”

The gross enrollment ratio of Scheduled Caste students in the country is barely 5 per cent as compared to the national average of 10 per cent, he said. “So many more students need to be encouraged to take up higher education,” he said.

Another scheme that got an year’s extension was the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises’ Rural Employment Generation Programme.

Other decisions

• Indo-Italian Renewable Energy Cooperation Agreement

• Jallaram Shaft Project of Singareni Collieries

• Bilateral Cooperation pact in Health and Medical Science with Mongolia

• Construction of Chancery and staff residences for Indian Embassy in Kathmandu

• Passport Seva Project

... contd.