Over 58k tribal students get hike in allowances

The state cabinet on Tuesday decided to revise the allowances considering the inflation index. The monthly subsistence allowance to students living in hostels at the tehsil-rural level has been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1000, at the district level, from Rs 600 to Rs 1,300 and at divisional level, students will get Rs 1,400 instead of the existing Rs 800. The additional subsistence allowance for girls has also been increased from Rs 100 to Rs 150.

The annual educational material purchase allowance has been increased from Rs 3,200 to Rs 4,500 for students from Class 8 to Class 10. For junior college and diploma courses, it will be increased to Rs 5,000 from Rs 4,000. For tribal students in degree courses, it has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 5,700. For medical and engineering courses, it has been increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000. The food allowance per month has been increased from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 for hostels in municipal corporations and divisional cities. For district level hostels, it has been increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,500.

Until now, the government was spending Rs 144.74 crore per annum over these allowances, and with this hike in allowances rates, the government will need to spend Rs 228.41 crore.