Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division awards scholarship to 198 meritorious SC/ST students
West Bokaro: As part of its Affirmative Action Policy and efforts towards inclusive growth and development of the scheduled caste (SC)/scheduled tribe (ST) community, the West Bokaro Division of Tata Steel today awarded Jyoti Fellowship to 198 meritorious students of West Bokaro.
Santosh Kumar Satapathy, IAS, principal secretary the Governor of Jharkhand, graced the programme at West Bokaro as the chief guest along with Professor Anand Bhusan, academic advisor to the Governor of Jharkhand; Rajeshwari B, IAS, deputy commissioner, Ramgarh; Dr M Tamil Vanan, IPS, ADC to the Governor of Jharkhand; Kishore Kaushal, IPS, superintendent of police, Ramgarh; and Sahabji Kuchroo, chief operations (West Bokaro), Tata Steel. Among other dignitaries on the dais were Mohan Mahato, president, Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Sangh (RCMS); Jiren Topno, head, Tribal Cultural Society; and Keshav Ranjan, unit head, Tata Steel Rural Development Society.
An amount of over Rs10.64 lakh towards the Fellowship was disbursed among the students enrolled in schools and colleges across West Bokaro, Ramgarh and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand.
Addressing the students on the occasion, Mr Satapathy said, “Brain is the fastest computer given to all by the Almighty and everyone should use it wisely and in a constructive way to achieve success. Even sky is not the limit for those who keeps on trying and never quit.”
Ms Rajeshwari B appreciated the efforts of Tata Steel in helping the underprivileged students complete their education and said, “Better education and malnutrition in government schools are the two top challenges for the administration and it is heartening to see that Tata Steel is contributing immensely in the field of education. By providing scholarship to the school and college students, the company is contributing to the nation’s development.”
Prem Kumar Ravi, a student of Class VIII of Adarsh High School, Badgaon in Ramgarh district and the recipient of the scholarship said, “With this scholarship provided by Tata Steel, I will be able to fulfil my dreams. This has come as a huge support for me and my family.”
Reiterating Tata Steel’s commitment towards education, Mr Kuchroo said, “The provision of fellowship opportunities for meritorious students has been an important part of Tata Steel’s endeavour in the field of education. This helps the meritorious students from economically weak SC/ST families accomplish their educational and career aspirations.”
Along with cash awards, top five performers of Class VII of the Jyoti Fellowship Test were given computer tablets. A book on English grammar was also given to all the 22 students of Class VII who qualified for the Jyoti Fellowship.
The Fellowship, being given since the mid-70s, was branded as Jyoti Fellowship in 2004-05. Structured to help high school, intermediate, under-graduate and post-graduate students from economically backward SC/ST families, the fund committed by the company has increased over the years. A mix of school and college going students are identified based on merit test for the Fellowship.
Among others present on the occasion were senior officials of Tata Steel and Tata Steel Rural Development Society along with union officials and PRI members from the peripheral villages.