The government has meanwhile modified the guidelines of the scheme and it will henceforth provide scholarship to students who undertake technical and professional courses in private institutes inside and outside state.

“My government is committed to brighten the future of farmers families by providing assistance to the children in professional and technical institutions,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement.

As per the new guidelines, which was made public on Monday, scholarship will be given to those who enroll in professional and technical courses like engineering, medical, agriculture and allied subjects, nursing, diploma and different trades in ITI in government or private institutions having AISHE (All India Survey on Higher Education) code besides in premier institutions inside and outside the states like the IITs, NITs, AIIMS, IIMs, ICAR, IARI, IISER, NISER, IVRI, CIFE and NDRI and others.

Earlier, it was provided to farmer’s children enrolled only in government institutions within the state, the official said.

The scholarship will be given for maximum two years for post graduate and four years for PhD courses. The PhD courses must be related to the eligible post-graduation courses only in government institutions inside the state, an official release said.

As many as 1,789 students have so far been enrolled for the grant under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Aaugmentation Scholarship (KALIA) scheme which was launched in 2021-22.

The KALIA Scholarship aims to accommodate maximum number of students from the families of small and marginal farmers and landless agricultural labourers, an official said.

The scholarship amount for students in private institutions and premier institutions will be released as per the approved rates, an official release said.