The government is set to fully reimburse the tuition fee of the students in the most reputed educational institutions in the country.
Published Jul 25, 2023 | 7:35 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 25, 2023 | 7:35 PM
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao speaking in the state Assembly. (Screengrab)
In another move to woo the Backward Class (BC) voter with the state Assembly elections around the corner, the BRS government in Telangana announced yet another incentive for the community.
The BCs, who constitute more than half of the population of Telangana, are a constituency which the BRS could not afford to ignore, especially in an election year.
The state government has announced that it would fully reimburse the tuition fee (RTF) of the students who secure admissions in the most reputed educational institutions in the country.
The government is already funding the education of BC students who are prosecuting higher studies in universities abroad.
According to BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar, the decision would benefit at least 10,000 BC students. The government has allocated ₹150 crore for this purpose.
Kamalakar said: “The chief minister has taken this decision to benefit the BC students. The state government would reimburse the tuition fee of students in about 200 reputed institutions in the country, including IITs, IIMs, and central universities.”
Kamalakar issued instructions in this regard to BC Welfare Department Principal Secretary Burra Venkatesam on Tuesday, 25 July.
The chief minister has decided to extend the benefit of tuition fee reimbursement, which was available for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC and ST) students in Telangana, to the BCs from this academic year.
Already students who are studying in universities in the US, UK, and Australia are being benefited. The BC students in colleges and universities in the state too are availing themselves of the benefit, he said.
The state government has rolled out several welfare schemes lately with an eye on elections in November-December this year.
The BCs constitute a major chunk of the beneficiaries of the welfare schemes, including the Aasara pension, Rythu Bandhu, and free power supply to the farm sector.
This apart, the government is also constructing BC Atma Gaurava Bhavans, community halls in villages and towns, providing ₹1 lakh financial help to the BCs who are dependent on their traditional occupations to purchase implements necessary for them, and running 327 gurukul schools for BC students.
With Assembly elections just months away, the ruling BRS in Telangana has been going out of its way to woo different communities.
And after Dalits and Muslims, the BRS — well aware of attempts by the BJP and the Congress to dip into the BC)vote bank in the state — is now working out ways to reach out to them.
On Sunday, the state government — under to Government Order (GO) Rt No 78 — ordered the implementation of the financial assistance scheme to eligible minorities candidates, as a one-time grant of 100 percent subsidy up to an extent of ₹1 lakh per beneficiary.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the Telangana government was working with a vision to eradicate poverty regardless of caste and religion, adding that the government was already supporting the poor of all sections.
On Saturday, the Aasara Pension, payable to differently-abled persons, was hiked to ₹4,016 per month from ₹3,016, according to a Government Order (No 25) issued by the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department.
The Aasara pension hike came close on the heels of the ₹1 lakh dole to each eligible BC beneficiary to help them buy implements necessary for practising their traditional avocations. About 5.28 lakh BCs have applied for financial assistance.
The help is mostly intended for the most backward classes (MBC) communities, who are still dependent on their traditional avocations to make a living, as they are in dire need of help.
The ₹1 lakh assistance scheme does not cover those who belong to BC castes which are already the beneficiaries of the government schemes like sheep and fish fingerling distribution, Kalyana Lakshmi, and support for overseas studies.
The BRS BC leaders are working with enthusiasm to organise BCs-focussed meetings to protect the flock from being hijacked by BJP and the Congress who are also coming out with action programmes to woo them.
