Centre disburses over Rs 32.5 crore as scholarships to 92,000 poor kids

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): In a significant achievement, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has disbursed financial assistance for education to all eligible applicants under Labour Welfare Schemes meant for wards of beedi, cine, and non-coal mine workers.

A total of Rs 32.51 crore has been disbursed to 92,118 wards of beedi, cine and non-coal mine workers who applied for scholarship during the academic year 2024-25, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

The education component of the Labour Welfare Scheme is implemented through the National Scholarship Portal and is administered by the Labour Welfare Organisation in 18 regions under the administrative control of the Directorate General of Labour Welfare, a department of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under the scheme, financial assistance of up to Rs 25,000 per student per annum is provided to eligible wards for education in school, college and professional courses. The benefits are disbursed directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) using the Aadhaar Payment Bridge method, ensuring transparency and efficiency.

This timely and efficient service delivery ensures that these children receive financial assistance when they need it most, the statement added.

The Labour Ministry has also launched a National Career Service (NCS) as a ‘one-stop platform’ for all career-related services, including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, skill/training programmes to help those looking for employment opportunities.

From 1st January 2024 to 15th December 2024, over 1.89 crore vacancies were mobilised on the NCS portal, taking the total vacancies mobilised since its inception to 3.89 crores. This year, active vacancies count crossed a peak of 20 lakhs on a given day, with an average of 15 lakh job opportunities available on the NCS portal at any given time.

On the NCS portal, 8,263 Job fairs were organised in which 43,874 employers participated, and 2,69,616 candidates were provisionally selected for jobs during the year. In respect of stakeholder registrations, 17,23,741 new employers and 1,38,45,887 new job seekers were registered on the NCS portal.

The NCS portal has significantly enhanced its integration and collaboration efforts. It is now integrated with 30 States and UTs employment portals and several private job portals, enriching its database and broadening access to job opportunities.

NCS has also been integrated with the MyBharat platform to provide a user-friendly experience for youth, institutions, and organisations. Through MyBharat, NCS can create events, and registered volunteers can participate. Model Career Centres (MCCs) are also connected, enabling Young Professionals to engage with volunteers for job fairs and outreach programmes.