Himachal removes caste column from school admission forms

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Wednesday directed that the caste column be removed from admission forms in schools from the next session.

Chairing the meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste Welfare Board (HPSCWB) here, he said the government is committed to eliminating caste-based discrimination in society and promoting a sense of fraternity and equality.

He said removing the caste column from school admission forms would be a step in this direction and would help ensure that the children do not develop any sense of inferiority based on caste. However, members of the Scheduled Caste would continue to provide their caste details when availing themselves of government schemes and benefits, ensuring that they receive the benefits without any difficulty.

The Chief Minister said the government is giving priority to resolving the issues faced by the Scheduled Caste. Several schemes had been launched for their welfare, and all eligible beneficiaries should be made aware of these initiatives so that they could avail themselves of the benefits available to them.

He said under the Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Swarozgar Saur Yojana, the government is providing subsidies for setting up projects ranging from 100 KW to 2 MW. A subsidy of 5 per cent is being provided for projects in tribal areas and 4 per cent in other areas.

The Chief Minister said the government is also providing loans of up to Rs 20 lakh to meritorious students for higher education at an interest rate of one per cent, so that students are not forced to discontinue their studies due to financial constraints.

He said the government is going to implement the Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana for extremely poor families. Under the scheme, eligible families would be provided 300 units of free electricity, while women from these families would receive a monthly pension of Rs 1,500.

IANS