On Wednesday, May 3, 2023, the Maharashtra cabinet accepted a proposal to grant scholarships to 75 students for three years to research mangroves and marine biodiversity at top universities overseas.
According to a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), as part of this exercise, the forest department's Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation will provide scholarships to 25 students each year.
These scholarships will be awarded to students who have been accepted into overseas educational institutions ranked among the top 150 by Times Higher Education (THE) or Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). According to the announcement, female students will get 30% of these grants.
There will be 15 post-graduate students and 10 PhD students from the disciplines of marine science, marine ecology, oceanography, marine biology, marine biotechnology, microbiology, and biodiversity among the 25 students. Postgraduate students should not be older than 35, while PhD students should not be older than 40. According to the statement, their yearly income should not exceed INR 8 lakh.
The government would spend INR 31.50 crore on the project. Every year, in April or May, the Mangrove Foundation will advertise for the scholarship. In another decision, the cabinet approved the implementation of a solid waste management initiative based on ICT (information and communications technology) in all metropolitan local governments. The government agreed to establish the Maharashtra State Infrastructure Facilities Development Corporation to oversee road upkeep and quality.
The corporation's equity will be INR 100 crore, with the state government owning 51%. One lakh km of the state's three lakh kilometres of roads are under the public works department's (PWD) jurisdiction. In another decision, the cabinet agreed to waive the entertainment tax from the commencement of Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation on September 16, 2017, until the ability to reclaim this tax was granted to local governments.
Source: Times of India
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