Vidya Deevena Scheme of Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh Government recently released Rs 686 crores for the Vidya Deevena Scheme. This is the third tranche of the scheme. It is an education assistance scheme.

Key Features of Vidya Deevena Scheme

• The Vidya Deevena Scheme provides scholarships (in terms of fee reimbursements) to students who are not able to pay their college fees.
• It is a fee reimbursement scheme. That is, the students pay the educational institutes and the government pays the students. Here, full reimbursement is not done. Full reimbursement includes college fees, hostel fees, mess fees. The scheme reimburses college fees alone.
• The scheme mainly focuses on students seeking higher education.
• If the student has attendance is less than 75% then the fee disbursement is not done. Also, the scheme is not applicable for students in private or deemed universities.
• The scheme is not applicable for distant learning and NRI quota.
• The official website to apply for Vidya Deevena scheme is NAVASAKAM.ap.gov.in.

Benefits of Vidya Deevena Scheme

• Since 2019, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has spent Rs 6,259 crores for fee reimbursement under the scheme. This has benefitted 21.48 lakh students.
• Through the scheme, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is aiming for 100% literacy rate in the state.
• It mainly intends to fulfil the dreams of students pursuing higher education without burdening their families.
• As of November 2021, 2,118 students studying in private universities have benefitted through the scheme.

Who are eligible beneficiaries of the scheme?

Any students whose family income is less than Rs 2.5 lakhs is eligible under the scheme. The students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Backward classes, scheduled tribes, minorities, economically backward classes, Kapus and Differently abled are also eligible. Also, students belonging to families with 25 acres of dry land and 10 acres of wetland are also eligible. The income tax payers are not eligible. The family should not own a four-wheeler. None of the family member should be a government official or pensioner.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2021