The Government of India has launched this centrally sponsored scheme in June 2008. According to the scheme, a sum of Rs. 3,000 will be deposited in the name of eligible girl as fixed deposit and she would be entitled to withdraw it along with interest thereon on reaching 18 years of age.
The scheme will cover:
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(i) All eligible girls belonging to SC/ST communities, who pass Class VIII and
(ii) All girls who pass Class VIII examination from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and enroll in Class IX in Government, Government aided and local body schools.
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a. An ordinance has been promulgated under Article 123 of the Constitution for establishment of 15 Central Universities including the conversion of three State Universities into Central Universities – one in each such state which does not have a Central University, except Goa.
b. Six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), one each in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab have been set up during 2008-09.
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c. One new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) namely the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM) at Shillong in Meghalaya has started functioning from the academic session 2008-09.
d. Two new Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) have been set up at Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram which have started functioning with the academic session 2008-09.
e. Two new Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs) have been set up in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.
f. One new Central University, namely Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh has started functioning.
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g. A new Scholarship Scheme has been started to cover top 2 per cent of the student population of Class XII (equally divided between boys and girls on the basis of Class XII results) by providing them with scholarship of Rs. 1,000 per month for 10 months in year for the first three years of undergraduate level studies and Rs. 2,000 per month for 10 months in a year for subsequent 2 years.
h. A “Submission on Polytechnics” has been launched, wherein it is proposed to
(i) Assist the establishment of 1,000 new polytechnics by the State Governments throughout the country,
(ii) Provide assistance to 500 existing polytechnics to augment the facilities,
(iii) Provide assistance for construction of women’s hostels in 500 polytechnics and
(iv) Start a renewed Community Polytechnic Scheme in 1,000 polytechnics in order to promote community development by providing short-term skill and vocational training to rural community and unorganized sectors.
i. Central Institute of Classical Tamil has been set up and it has started functioning during 2008-09.
ii. To encourage research, the amount of fellowships under Junior Research Fellowships has been enhanced by about 50 per cent, the GATE qualified M. Tech Fellowship has also been enhanced from Rs. 5,000 per month to Rs. 8,000 per month.
iii. AICTE has permitted evening shifts in the engineering college and polytechnics, subject to court directions in a few states.