Vidyanjali Scholarship Programme:
The Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship recently launched the EdCIL Vidyanjali Scholarship Programme.
- This initiative guarantees access to high-quality learning systems by facilitating a seamless transition from secondary to higher education and extending financial support for the meritorious Navodaya Vidyalaya students who lack means.
- It symbolises a whole-of-society approach to empowerment through access to and opportunities for education, particularly for students belonging to economically disadvantaged sections.
- The Vidyanjali programme intends to garner assistance and funding from non-government partners and private sources such as CSR grants, national and international donors, and impact investors.
- The beneficiaries of the Vidyanjali programme in its initial phase will be students of grades XI and XII studying in Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country.
- A fintech platform has been specifically curated under Vidyanjali, and the sponsorship will be disbursed to students through this platform as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
- This platform will be instrumental in capturing data, receiving, hosting, and viewing student applications, tracking student progress, tracking grant disbursement, monitoring fund utilisation, generating impact reports towards SDG realisation, individual mentions of notable student achievement, and publicly acknowledging the support of the funders, among other platform utilities.