26 Oct, 2007, 1430 hrs IST,Rajat Guha & Rajeev Jayaswal,
NEW DELHI: If you figure in the list of meritorious 1 lakh students, you will get Rs 1 lakh annually for pursuing university education in science stream and the amount may continue up to five years. The government is planning to institute scholarships to encourage education in science and technology. While modalities of selecting meritorious students are yet to be worked out, it is proposed that the future scientists would be caught young in the 12th class itself. The financial assistance would be given to such students while pursuing BSc and MSc courses. “We have proposed to give adequate financial support to sufficient number of students to foster talent in scientific research. The government is considering to award 1 lakh scholarships of Rs 1 lakh each. Meritorious students pursuing university education in science stream would be eligible for the award. The proposal is expected to be incorporated in the 11th Five-Year Plan, and expected to be announced in the forthcoming National Development Council (NDC) meeting,” a source in the government said. It is understood that the proposed scholarship would be modelled on the line of INSPIRE programme mooted by the department of science & technology (DST). INSPIRE stands for innovations in science pursuit for inspired research. The programme aims at reaching out to the young talent and help them to pursue their interest in science. “It is also an intervention devised to redress low entry of students into science and technology streams,” a DST source said. After the programme would get a formal approval, the selection procedure for the meritorious students would be announced. The scholarship is proposed to be instituted to strengthen India’s position as global knowledge hub and maintain the leadership position which it enjoys currently, an official said. There have been some concerns as most of the students were opting for management degrees and moved away from undertaking research to the multi national companies (MNCs). It is expected that the budget allocation of scientific departments would be enhanced significantly in the 11th Plan. The plan allocation has been doubled from about Rs 12,000 crore in the 9th Plan to about Rs 25,000 crore in the 10 Plan and it is planned to increased it approximately four fold in the 11th Plan, official sources said. |
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