Pandian participates in the launching of the Nua-O scholarships program at Khurdha and Begunia.

• He said that this transformational initiative under 5T will make youth empowered and dream big
• He conveyed the message of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that the state government will provide all support to the students.
• Sh Pandian explained the concept of Magic card – a smart card for the students- which will create a vibrant eco system to enable the students to achieve their goals. This card will be given to all students and the portal will be launched on March 5th and the cards distributed in August 15th.
• All students of UG and PG courses will be eligible for the Magic card
• In today’s program, total 16,613 eligible students from Khurdha district received the scholarship worth about Rs 16.13 Crores.

Bhubaneswar: Chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha Sh.V.K Pandian visited Khurdha and Begunia today.

He attended the Nua-O Scholarship Distribution Programme at Khurdha and Begunia where he interacted with the students from 30 colleges of Khurdha District and informed the students about the Nua -O Scholarship under which all eligible PG and UG Students from State govt. Universities, Govt Colleges, non-Govt aided and unaided Colleges will be benefitted.

The scholarship amount for General and OBC male and female students is Rs. 9,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively whereas for SC/ST and Nirman Shramik male and female students it is 10,000 and Rs 11,000 respectively.

Sh. Pandian informed that 16,613 students from 30 colleges of Khurdha district will get their scholarship amount in their bank accounts today. With this, Rs. 16.13 Crores sanctioned for 16,613 nos. of students from these three districts. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship Sanction Orders to the students.

He conveyed the message of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who wished the students all the best for their future and said that this initiative would help to achieve the dream of Nua Odisha.

Sh Pandian said that the government’s next major initiative will be to cover all the students through the launching of the futuristic Nabin Odisha Magic Card, a points- system based smart card which will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic development, personality development, skill development and employment. It will create a platform for the youth to aspire and achieve their dreams. It will be encouraging and empowering the youth by providing physical and digital access to resources which will help them in their career growth and personality development.

This card will be a “Passport to Prosperity”. Based on points earned through various activities and parameters the cards will be upgraded to *Silver, Gold and Platinum level. The Cards will be allotted and upgraded based on the performance of student in terms of attendance, discipline, academic performance, participation in extracurricular activities, sports, online courses, personality development courses etc.

These cards can provide access to various facilities like – Bus/Train/Flights concession; access to Phone/ Data recharge and Wi-Fi ; e-libraries; Online Academic courses ; Personality development courses and workshops ; Coaching Centres and Tuition classes; Skill Development courses ; Career counselling; Language courses including Odia and English; “Earn While You Learn” opportunities; Volunteering opportunities; Access to stadiums during the national and international tournaments; Access to Journals and Seminars; Access to tourist places, Museums, etc.

This card will also provide Job and Placement opportunities through sharing of this data with the potential recruiting companies-A LinkedIn type platform for the students to interact with the industry and will integrate with the Start Up ecosystem to encourage the students to aspire to be entrepreneurs and also to provide priority loans for the students under various schemes like Swayam etc. Government will actively engage with the private sector to provide more benefits to the students through these smart cards.

Sh. Pandian said that the Government will take further inputs from the students and teachers on the various activities which can be included in this points-system. The Card will be completely technology driven and will be a revolutionary concept towards youth engagement and empowerment.

Online registration portal for this card will be launched on March 5th,2024. All the students of the UG and PG courses will be eligible. And the distribution of the card will be on August 15th.

He interacted with the students during the program. The students were excited and thrilled to receive the sanction orders and also immediately after the launch of the program, they received the SMS from banks that the amount has been credited to their accounts.

They thanked the Chief Minister and Sh Pandian for the initiative and such speedy execution within a short period of time after the announcement of the program.