(a) whether his Ministry has any schemes for providing grants and facilities to the students of North-Eastern States for higher education; and
(b) if so, the details thereof and the amount of grants and facilities provided during the last three years and the current year?
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of
Development of North Eastern Region
(Dr. Jitendra Singh)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) The North Eastern Council (NEC) has a scheme for providing book grant and stipend to North East students, through their respective State Governments, for pursuing higher education and professional courses. The NEC has also, in the past, part-funded construction of hostels Delhi University namely, Rajiv Gandhi Girls Hostel and Saramati Post-Graduate Hostel in which the University agreed to reserve 300 and 91 seats respectively for North East Students. Further, the NEC has part-funded a Girls Hostel in Indraprastha College, Delhi in which the College agreed to reserve 30 seats for SC/ST Students from the North East. The amount of book grant and stipend released during the last three years and the current are given below:
<pre>
Year Book grant and Stipend released
(Rs. in lakh)
2012-13 814.51
2013-14 628.62
2014-15 720.00
2015-16 800.00
</pre>