Scholarship for SCs: Release funds expeditiously, Punjab Chief Minister asks Centre
The Hindu
₹1,563 cr. for 2017-20 pending with Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, he says.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking release of the State’s pending amount and revised sharing pattern under the Post Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes (PMS-SCs) for 2017-2020. He said non-release of funds would adversely affect the education of SC students. The Chief Minister said though the government of India had, on December 31, 2020, amended the guidelines for the scholarship to introduce a revised sharing pattern (60:40), the same had been made effective only from April 1, 2020. No decision had, however, been conveyed for April 1, 2017- March 31, 2020, thus jeopardising the future of scores of SC students, he said.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.