Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday launched two schemes to provide monetary assistance to college students and literary bodies of the state.

Under Pragyan Bharati scheme, 3,26,046 college students were given Rs 1,500 each for purchasing textbooks, while a total of Rs 161 crore was reimbursed for the free admission of 4 lakh eligible students.

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

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

The young generation must strive for knowledge through education and utilise the opportunity provided by the two schemes, the chief minister said.

The state government is committed to providing higher education to the poorest of the poor, he said.

Sonowal also urged parents and teachers to encourage the younger generation to take part in sports and cultural activities for their holistic development.

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

Education Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state government has taken steps for providing primary education till Class V to all students in their mother tongues.

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

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

Source: PTI

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