BHUBANESWAR: The Skill Development and Technical Education (SDTE) department has asked the government technical universities in the state to submit proposals for release of funds towards research fellowship to technical scholars under the newly-launched CM Aspire (Chief Minister’s Augmenting Soft Skill and Promoting Innovation, Research and Excellence) scheme.
Sources in the department said the initiative had been stalled as universities had sought certain clarifications on the scheme guidelines which were issued last year. However, it has been addressed in the first steering committee meeting chaired by SDTE secretary Bhupendra Singh Poonia on December 24.
The fellowship will be awarded to PhD candidates in three government technical universities such as Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR), Bhubaneswar and Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Rourkela. Around Rs 37.5 crore will be spent for the purpose.
As per the scheme, candidates from Odisha who are below 35 years of age and have completed their required pre-PhD course work will get a monthly fellowship of Rs 30,000 along with a contingency amount of Rs 50,000 for practical subjects and Rs 30,000 for non-practical subjects, if their parental income doesn’t exceed Rs 8 lakh annually.
Sources said the fellowship has been planned to be awarded to around 150 students from these universities every year and the research scholars will be encouraged to publish their work globally in reputed journals.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced CM Aspire in 2024 after which a financial outlay of Rs 120 crore had been made for three years from 2025-26 to 2027-28 for implementation of five components of the umbrella scheme such as employability skills training for students of government ITI and polytechnics; senior secondary certificate for government ITI students; research fellowship for government technical universities; Mukhyamantri Dakshyata Puraskar and Rejuvenation of Model Career Centres.
Officials said Rs 18 crore has already been sanctioned to the directorate of technical education and training (DTET) for implementation of the ‘employability skills training for students of government ITI and polytechnics component’, while another Rs 4 crore has been sanctioned for rollout of senior secondary certificate for government ITI students component.
A comprehensive evaluation mechanism will be devised for the Mukhyamantri Dakshyata Puraskar in the field of skill and technical education, while the funds for rejuvenation of model career centres will be released following resolution of issues pertaining to the component.