CHENNAI: Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin urged students from the state to aim for positions of authority and help realise the vision of the Dravidian model government. He was addressing the students selected to receive monthly assistance under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme to prepare for the UPSC examination at Anna Centenary Library on Tuesday.
Udhayanidhi also distributed orders for the monthly financial assistance of Rs 7,500 to as many as 1,000 aspirants preparing for the UPSC preliminary examination, and Rs 25,000 to 453 aspirants who have cleared the prelims.
He also inaugurated a study hall for aspirants in Anna Nagar and launched free residential coaching centres for SSC, RRB, and IBPS exam preparations in Srivilliputhur, Salem and Karapakkam. Additionally, skill training facilities for 10,000 retired military personnel across 10 locations in TN were also opened.
The Naan Mudhalvan competitive wing was launched last year to address the decline in the number of candidates from Tamil Nadu passing the UPSC exam. “The year before the scheme was introduced, only 36 candidates from the state cleared UPSC. After its introduction, this number rose to 47.
There was no candidate from TN in the top 100 previously, but now, six have made it to the top 100 and all were beneficiaries of the Naan Mudhalvan scheme. Additionally, the number of candidates clearing the prelims increased from 585 to 632 in one year, with 278 being direct beneficiaries of the scheme,” the minister said.
He also noted the Tamil Nadu Skill Competitions, introduced last year, saw 87 winners who represented the state in the India Skills competition. Of them, six secured gold, eight silver, eight bronze, and nine won special prizes.
The winners were awarded Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000, and Rs 25,000 respectively. The state, which was ranked 10th in 2021, has now progressed to the third place. This apart, Rs 1 lakh was awarded to 50 projects selected through an engineering hackathon.