Nijut Moina 2.0 to cover 4L girls, aims to end child marriage by 2026
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma distributed admission forms at Gauhati University on Wednesday to formally launch the initiative. He said irrespective of religion and caste, the Assam govt is committed to bringing down child marriage to zero by 2026 by facilitating the study of girls up to higher classes.
"We have renewed our tirade against child marriage. With the launch of Nijut Moina 2.0, four lakh girl students will save themselves from its scourge while fulfilling their academic dreams," Sarma said.
Under the scheme, monthly financial assistance will be transferred to students' bank accounts via direct benefit transfer (DBT) -- Rs 1,000 for HS students, Rs 1,250 for undergraduate students, and Rs 2,500 for postgraduates. The 2025-26 edition will cover HS, UG, PG, and BEd students.
Eligibility is open to all unmarried girl students domiciled in Assam, regardless of economic background. However, married girls are excluded — except those pursuing PG and BEd studies.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Back Pain Treatments That Might Surprise You!
Back Pain Treatment | Search Ads
Undo
Daughters of ministers, MPs, and MLAs, as well as in-service women admitted to BEd courses via deputation, are also ineligible, the CM said.
To expand its reach, Nijut Moina 2.0 now includes central universities such as Tezpur University and Assam University, alongside provincialised colleges and self-financing courses.
The Nijut Moina scheme will play a major role in enabling these girls to continue their studies, thus preventing child marriages, he asserted.
"We have a society where even a 14-year-old has to live with the tag of someone's third wife. These girls are first stopped from attending school, then forced into marriage and pressured to bear children," Sarma added.
He noted the contrasting pictures in the state — while in some areas 22-year-old girls are mothers of four children, others of the same age at institutions like Cotton University in Guwahati are seen pursuing PG degrees.
Sarma explained that Nijut Moina 2.0 will cover girl students of the first and second years of HS, the first and second years of UG, and the first and second years of PG. "In the next year, the final year students of UG will be brought under the ambit, thereby ensuring 100 per cent coverage of girl students under the scheme. Subsequently, Nijut Moina will cover 10 lakh girl students," the chief minister added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
Congress functionaries back Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' accusation, opposition allies join in
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor threw his weight behind Rahul Gandhi 's "expose" on "vote chori" as the party decided to take it forward with a nationwide campaign. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal announced that the party's state units will screen Rahul's "landmark press conference" in state capitals on Saturday "to expose the BJP-EC nexus". Party president Mallikarjun Kharge will discuss the idea of a national offensive on "election fraud" with Congress state managers and frontal heads on Monday. Party MP Manickam Tagore sought to raise the issue in Lok Sabha amid protests. On Rahul's expose, Tharoor said, "These are serious questions which must be addressed in the interests of all parties and voters. Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness, or worse, deliberate tampering." Tharoor, who has famously diverged from Congress' view on geopolitical issues lately, was emphatic that EC should act urgently. As a follow up, Rahul released an 8-minute video summary of his findings and raised questions about the outcome of 2022 Uttarakhand, 2023 MP and Chhattisgarh, and 2024 Maharashtra polls, a sensational claim that triggered Congress and opposition to exhume old complaints to EC. Congress MP Vivek Tankha, tagging a video, said he had complained to EC about mass deletion of voters, fake and duplicate voters ahead of MP polls, and asked "why is the poll watchdog not acting impartially". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Become Fluent in Any Language Talkpal AI Undo Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, who raised questions about the poll outcome in the past, was especially active on social media. Allies joined in, with CPI (ML) chief Dipankar Bhattacharya announcing a "chunao chor, gaddi chod (vote thief, quit the throne)" campaign from Aug 9-11, and "Save Independence Day" campaign on Aug 15. Samajwadi Party supporters took to social media with gusto sharing videos of Akhilesh Yadav saying "EC is dead" and making other remarks. NCP's Supriya Sule said after Rahul's presentation at a dinner on Thursday that was attended by INDIA bloc stalwarts, Sharad Pawar suggested that the presentation be given at every state, district and block level. DMK's Kanimozhi sought immediate action while TMC's Sagarika Ghose said Rahul's disclosures confirmed Mamata Banerjee's misgivings about SIR. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said EC must rethink if its responsibility is only to BJP.
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
New green card rules for non-citizen children in US: How will it affect Indians?
USCIS issues new rule for age calculation of a child seeking green card along with parents. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new rule for age calculation of non-citizen children applying for a green card on their parents' petitions. It stated that, starting from August 15, the Final Action Date will be used for calculating the child's age instead of the current rule of considering the Dates for Filing. This means more children will age out soon. An unmarried alien child must be under age 21 to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States based on their parent's approved petition for a family-sponsored, employment-based, or diversity visa. If they turn 21 and age out during the immigration process, they generally are no longer eligible to immigrate based on their parents' petition. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) helps certain children remain eligible for a Green Card past their 21st birthday, protecting them from 'ageing out' due to long processing delays. — USCIS (@USCIS) In February 2023, USCIS expanded this protection by allowing the Dates for Filing chart, often years ahead of the Final Action Dates chart, to determine when a visa is 'available' for CSPA purposes. This let many families file sooner and lock in a child's age under 21. "If an alien is applying for adjustment of status under a family-sponsored, employment-based preference, or diversity visa, they must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within one year of when a visa becomes available to benefit from the CSPA age calculation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Mixed Pink Salt With This - Now She Can't Stop Losing Weight Your Health Undo This update also clarifies that we consider an alien to have satisfied the 'sought to acquire' requirement if they demonstrate extraordinary circumstances for failing to seek lawful permanent resident status within one year of when a visa becomes available. If an alien demonstrates extraordinary circumstances for not applying for adjustment of status during the period of the Feb. 14, 2023, policy before August 15, 2025, we will calculate CSPA age under the Feb. 14, 2023, policy," the USCIS said. How will it affect Indian families? Children could now turn 21 before the Final Action Date is reached, and thereby they have to switch to a separate petition. Since the rule is to be implemented from August 15, Indian families can file adjustment of status applications as soon as the Dates for Filing chart allows, especially before August 15, 2025, to lock in the more favorable CSPA age calculation.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
SC to examine validity of BNS 'sedition' provision
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the 'sedition' provision in Section 152 of BNS and tagged the petition on this issue to pending petitions that challenged the validity of Section 124A of IPC. A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria issued notice to the Centre on the petition filed by retired Maj Gen S G Vombatkere, who alleged that BNS Section 152 was merely a rewording of the sedition provision defined in IPC Section 124A, which had the maximum penalty of life sentence. In a PIL filed through advocate Prasanna S, he said, "Section 152 of BNS reintroduces the colonial sedition law, Section 124A of IPC. Though the language is altered, its substantive content - criminalising vague and broad categories of speech and expression such as 'subversive activity', 'encouragement of separatist feelings', and acts 'endangering unity or integrity of India' - remains the same or is even more expansive. " He was among petitioners who challenged the validity of the IPC section earlier. On April 23, 2023, a bench led by then CJI D Y Chandrachud had referred to a five-judge bench to decide the validity of the sedition provision under IPC Section 124A after rejecting govt's plea to pause judicial scrutiny and await Parliament's view on the proposed new penal code in BNS. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo On May 11,2022, a bench headed by then CJI N V Ramana had suspended operation of the sedition provision to stop police from invoking it against anyone and also stayed both probe and trial in existing sedition cases to allow the Centre to examine pruning the rigour of Section 124A. "We expect that, till the re-examination of the provision is complete, it will be appropriate not to continue the usage of the aforesaid provision of law (Section 124A) by govts," the CJI Ramana-led bench had said. In the Kedarnath Singh case in 1962, SC had read down the provisions of Section 124A . "It is only when the words, written or spoken, etc. which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder or disturbance of law and order that the law steps in to prevent such activities in the interest of public order. So construed, the section, in our opinion, strikes the correct balance between individual fundamental rights and the interest of public order," it had ruled.
