Bhubaneswar: In response to student requests, the Odisha government has extended the deadline for online applications for the KALIA Scholarship scheme from January 31 to February 8. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the extension following a proposal from the Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment department, as stated in an official release on Wednesday.
The online registration for students from farming families under the extended ‘KALIA Scholarship’ scheme commenced on January 9. To further enhance inclusivity, the government has revised the guidelines, extending the scheme to students pursuing technical and professional courses in private institutes, both within and outside the state.
Under the new guidelines, scholarships will be awarded to students enrolling in professional and technical courses, including engineering, medical, agriculture, nursing, diploma, and various trades in ITI. This applies to both government and private institutions with AISHE (All India Survey on Higher Education) codes. Additionally, premier institutions such as IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IIMs, ICAR, IARI, IISER, NISER, IVRI, CIFE, NDRI, and others are covered. The list of approved courses now includes professional courses like BBA, BCA, MBA, and MCA.
The scholarship duration is a maximum of two years for postgraduate courses and four years for Ph.D. courses. For Ph.D. courses, eligibility is restricted to those related to approved postgraduate courses in government institutions within the state, as per the previous official release.