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Time of India

State govt drops Indira Gandhi'sname from school award

Jaipur: Rajasthan govt renamed the Indira Priyadarshini Award, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as the Padmakshi Award, given to meritorious girls studying in Classes VIII, X and XII. The govt has also reduced the prize money allocate for the scheme. The cash award under the Padmakshi Award has been fixed at Rs 25,000 for girls of Class 8, down from Rs 40,000. For girls of Class 10, the award money has been brought down from Rs 75,000 to Rs 50,000, while the prize money of Rs 1 lakh for girls studying in Class XII has been pared down to Rs 75,000. Under the Indira Priyadarshini Award, the Class 12 topper was also given a scooty in addition to the cash award. The annual, Indira Priyadarshini Award for meritorious girl students, was launched in 2010-11 by former Ashok Gehlot, with about 1200-1300 girls receiving the cash award every year. It was given away at every district headquarters on Nov 19, to mark the birthday of the former PM. In 2017-18, Raje govt changed the name of the award to Padmakshi Puruskar Yojana. When Gehlot returned to office in 2019, the scheme got back its original name. This is the third time that the scheme has been renamed, but the first time the prize money is being lowered. Rajasthan govt has now said the Padmakshi Award will be given away on Basant Panchami. The eligibility criteria for the award remains the same — a score of above 60% or 9 CGPA. TOI tried contacting education minister Madan Dilawar for a comment, but did not get a response. Dilawar's team said Saturday the revamped Padmakshi Award will be given to "encourage talented girls of general, scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward classes, minority classes, extremely backward classes, BPL, and specially abled children" studying in the state. Students studying in schools under the Sanskrit education department will also be eligible. "The entire expenditure will be borne by Balika Shiksha Foundation," a govt statement informing of the change said. Dilawar's office also clarified that the state education department had nothing to do with the distribution of scooties to the meritorious girls. "Scooties are given to meritorious girls under various schemes of the higher education department and not the education department. Only the name of an existing scheme has been changed," a person from Dilawar's team told TOI. Reacting sharply to the govt's decision to cut down assistance to deserving girls in the state, Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said BJP govt's decision was not just a cut in expenses, "but a direct attack on girl education and the dreams of daughters." "Congress govt started the scooty scheme to encourage meritorious girls, so that daughters can progress in education, their morale is boosted, and they can easily go to school-college in far-flung areas. But BJP not only changed the scheme's name, but also reduced prize money. BJP govt has proved it is neither concerned about the education of daughters, nor does it value their courage," Dotasra posted on social media. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !