Guwahati, 06 August (HS): Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday formally launched the Nijut Moina and Nijut Babu schemes, fulfilling key commitments made in the BJP's pre-election vision document. In a statement, BJP State Media Panellist Ashish Bharali said the government had begun implementing its major promises within three months of assuming office.

The Nijut Moina scheme, introduced in 2024–25 to curb child marriage by promoting girls' education, will cover four lakh new female students this year. The newly launched Nijut Babu scheme will benefit 1.2 lakh male students. Under the schemes, Higher Secondary girl students will receive ₹800 per month, undergraduate students ₹1,250, and postgraduate students ₹2,500. Male undergraduate students will receive ₹1,000 per month, while postgraduate students will get ₹2,000.

According to the release, Assam has witnessed a significant decline in child marriage cases since the introduction of the Nijut Moina scheme. Citing a survey by the Centre for Legal Action and Behavioural Change for Children, it said child marriages among women in the state declined by 84 percent by March 2025. From this year, Polytechnic students have also been brought under the scheme, covering students across 1,959 educational institutions.

During the programme, the Chief Minister also released one-time financial assistance of ₹2 lakh each to 793 schools in the flood-affected districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat. Students in these districts will also receive financial support of ₹1,000 for Higher Secondary, ₹3,000 for undergraduate and ₹5,000 for postgraduate studies, along with free textbooks and two sets of school uniforms.

Addressing the gathering, Education Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu welcomed the initiatives and urged students to embrace technology and artificial intelligence (AI)-based skills to prepare themselves for the demands of the future.-----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash