Odisha allocates funds for ‘Madho Singh Haath Kharch Yojana’ to boost tribal education

Bhubaneswar, sept 5: The Odisha Cabinet on Thursday approved the new ‘Madho Singh Haath Kharch Yojana,’ which will provide Rs 5000 in financial assistance to each tribal student for their education, as announced in the state Assembly. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling revealed that the scheme, included in this year’s budget, is designed to address the dropout rate among tribal students.

The initiative will benefit approximately three lakh Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, with the state government allocating Rs 156 crore for this purpose in the current budget. Under the scheme, tribal students advancing from Class 8 to 9 and from Class 10 to 11 will receive an annual incentive of Rs 5000. The scheme is set to be implemented this year.

The government has increased funding to address the high dropout rates at the secondary education level and to support student retention.