The Banishree Scholarship is for students with special needs. It is a highly esteemed scholarship scheme that aims to provide financial support to candidates in Odisha who face difficulties in covering their educational fees. To promote education among children with special needs, the government of Odisha has launched the Banishree Scholarship. The main aim of this scholarship is to encourage students (with disabilities) to achieve their dreams by fulfilling their educational needs. The main objective is to assist them in studying as well as providing technical/professional/vocational training which can help them to earn a living and to become useful members of society. This scheme came into effect on 1st April 2008.
The Purpose of Banishree Scholarship 2024
· “Children with special needs” means students with disabilities for the purpose of this scheme.
· “Disability”, means any category of disability as defined in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and National Trust Act, 1999.
· “Educational Institution” means any recognized educational institution which includes recognized schools/special schools (registered under the PWDs Act, 1995 and not covered in grant-in-aid scheme/rules)/ colleges/universities, and also includes technical/ vocational/ professional institutions.
· “Scholarship” means monetary stipend/ award at the rates as prescribed by Govt. from time to time, and includes Reader’s Allowance and conveyance allowance.
The main objective is to help physically challenged/ disabled students by overcoming their financial constraints and encouraging them to work towards their dreams.
Overview of Banishree Scholarship 2024
Amount of Financial Assistance in Banishree Scholarship
The government of Odisha has increased the scholarship amount as well as the number of scholarships for differently-abled students under the Banishree Scholarship program. These changes have been effective from the academic year 2022-2023. More candidates are encouraged by the increased amount which has been raised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The government of Odisha has increased the amount of financial assistance in Banishree Scholarships from the year 2022-2023 which helped over 23,600 students. Amounts under the Banishree Scholarship are given below:
Note: Students availing financial assistance/ stipend/ Scholarship/ either from the state or central govt. under any other scheme are not eligible to get a scholarship under the Banishree Scholarship scheme.
Documents Required to apply for the Bnaishree Scholarship 2024
· Copy of disability certificate
· Copy of last year's mark sheet & certificate
· Copy of Adhar card
· One passport-size photograph duly attested by the head of the institution.
· Copy of Bank account
· Copy of an undertaking from the parents of the applicants that they are not income tax payees.
Applicability of Banishree Scholarship Scheme 2024
Applicability-The scheme shall apply to the below-mentioned students,
· Pursuing primary education (Std. I to V).
· Reading in middle & high schools (std. VI to X), not covered by Govt. of India Scholarship.
· Reading in colleges/universities, not covered by Government of India Scholarship.
· Reading in special schools registered under PWD, Act 1995, but not receiving grant-in-aid from State/ Central Govt.
· Pursuing distance education through recognized universities/Govt. institutes.
· Pursuing technical/ vocational/ professional education in any of the recognized institutes.
Eligibility of Banishree Scheme 2024
For the purpose of awarding of Banishree scholarship under the scheme, applications can be submitted subject to fulfilling the following conditions:-
· The applicant must be a bona fide resident of Orissa.
· The applicant should be a regular student of an educational institution.
· The parental/ family income of the applicant is not more than Rs.60,000 per annum.
· The applicant is not receiving any financial assistance/stipend/scholarship from State Govt./ Central Govt. under any other scheme.
· The student will continue to get the scholarship if he enrolls and regularly attends any recognized institution irrespective of whether he has passed or not in a particular year.