NUA-O scholarship terminated; Odisha to roll out alternative financial aid

Bhubaneswar, Aug 30: The Mohan Majhi administration has decided to end the Nutana Unnata Abhilasha (NUA) Odisha (Nua-O) scholarship program, a financial assistance initiative for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students that was introduced earlier this year by the previous BJD government.

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced this change on Friday. In response to a query from MLA Chakramani Kanhar in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Suraj explained that there will be no budget allocation for ‘Nua-O’ starting this year. Instead, the state government is developing a new scheme titled Financial Assistance to UG & PG Students to support those unable to pursue higher education.

The Minister also highlighted that the ‘Mukhya Mantri Medhabi Chhatra Protschahana’ scheme includes various scholarships, such as the e-Medhabruti, Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Bhasabruti Scholarship, and Gopabandhu Sikhya Sahayata scheme. The e-Medhabruti scheme provides financial support for merit-based UG, PG, and technical and professional students who are economically disadvantaged.

The NUA-O Scholarship, launched in February by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, aimed to offer annual scholarships of Rs 9,000 for boys and Rs 10,000 for girls in higher education institutions under the Higher Education department. SC and ST students and children of construction workers were to receive Rs 10,000 for boys and Rs 11,000 for girls. The program had an estimated budget of Rs 3,701.08 crore for the period from 2023-24 to 2027-28.