Kejriwal launches free entrance coaching for SC/ST students

New Delhi Dec 9 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday launched a scheme under which free entrance coaching will be provided for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students preparing for civil services judicial services banking engineering medicine and other competitive examinations.

Under the "Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Viskas Yojana" the Delhi government will provide free coaching for SC/ST students through known and established coaching institutions.

The assistance will be started for 100 students and extended to 5 000 students.

Students whose family income is less than Rs 2 lakh will get 100 per cent assistance while families with income of Rs 2-6 lakh will get 75 per cent assistance.

The government will also provide students a monthly stipend of Rs 2 500 apart from the free coaching.

Launching the scheme Kejriwal said the government is "translating dreams of Baba Saheb into action by making education accessible and available to poor SC/STs OBCs minorities and other vulnerable sections of the society".

He also announced that the government will soon launch a scheme to give loans to poor and needy people for starting their small ventures.

Labour Minister Gopal Rai SC/ST Welfare Minister Rajendar Pal Gautam Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and others also participated in the event.

--IANS
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