Lok Sabha Question No. 2836 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Vigyan Jyoti Programme
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Arun Sao, Bhagwant Mann, Alok Kumar Suman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No.2836

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15/12/2021

## VIGYAN JYOTI PROGRAMME

†2836. SHRI ARUN SAO: SHRI BHAGWANT MANN: DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY ǒव£ान और Ĥौƭोिगकȧ मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  Vigyan  Jyoti  Programme  is  being implemented with the purpose of encouraging students particularly the girl students to pursue career in the field of Science and Technology;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the achievements of the said programme so far;
- (c) whether  Vigyan  Jyoti  Programme  is  being implemented with the cooperation of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  of  such  Navodaya  Vidyalayas,  State-wise, including Chhattisgarh and Punjab where the said programme is being implemented;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to expand the said programme in more Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in Bihar particularly in  Gopalganj district and to include Kendriya Vidyalayas also in the said programme and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to encourage the girl child  in  Bihar  particularly  in  Gopalganj  District  and  the  State  of Punjab?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

ǒव£ान और Ĥौƭोिगकȧ तथा पृØवी ǒव£ान मंğालय क े राÏय मंğी ( èवतंğ Ĥभार)

(डॉ. ǔजतɅġ िसंह)

- (a) Yes Sir.
- (b) The 'Vigyan Jyoti' programme started in the year 2019-20 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) with aim to encourage meritorious girl students of Class 9-12 to pursue higher education and career in Science & Technology particularly in the areas where women are  underrepresented.  Various  activities  such  as  Science  Camps, special lectures/classes, counselling of students-parents and interaction  with  role  models  are  conducted  in  the  programme. Selected girls are also getting opportunity to visit nearby scientific institutions  and  industries.  The  tinkering  activities  are  also  being conducted  under  the  programme  along  with  access  to  the  Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), where ever available. Since the inception, more than 12000 girls have been supported in 100 districts under Vigyan Jyoti.  In  two  phases  of  Vigyan  Jyoti,  around  1239  online  special classes  covering  concepts  of  Physics,  Chemistry,  Mathematics and Biology, more than 243 lectures from eminent scientists/role models, five (5) science camps, 25 visits to Knowledge Partners (KP)/Industry/Lab,  seven  (7)  Atal  Tinkering  Labs  (ATL)  workshops, orientation sessions, 150 student-parent counselling sessions and 2 sessions of career counselling have been conducted. Further, flip book of  'Science  &  Mathematics  Projects'  for  hands  on  experiments  for Class  XI-XII,  Cyber  Security  Workshops  and  Science  Quizzes  have been  organized  in  all  the  100  districts.  Eleven  (11)  sessions  of Curriculum Based STEM (C-STEM) Classes and quizzes have also been organized for Class IX-X students. In addition to this, a dedicated web portal 'vigyanjyoti.dst.gov.in' has been started for smooth management of the programme.
- (c) & (d) Yes. At present Vigyan Jyoti Programme is being implemented in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) at 100 Districts of  the  country. In Chhattisgarh, programme is running at 4 JNVs at Bilaspur, Raipur, Dhamtari and Kanker Districts while in Punjab at 4 JNVs viz.  in  Amritsar,  Ludhiana,  Mansa  and  Faridkot  Districts.  The state-wise list of 100 JNVs is mentioned below:

## List of 100 Districts under Vigyan Jyoti (2020-21)

| Sl.   | States/UTs   | Number of   | District wise JNVs   |
|-------|--------------|-------------|----------------------|
| No.   |              | Districts   |                      |

<!-- image -->

|   1. | Andhra Pradesh             |   3 | Ananthapur, West Godavary, Vizag                        |
|------|----------------------------|-----|---------------------------------------------------------|
|    2 | Andaman and Nicobar        |   1 | Middle Andaman                                          |
|    3 | Arunachal Pradesh          |   1 | Lohit                                                   |
|    4 | Assam                      |   5 | Kamrup, Nalbari, West Imphal, Jorhat, Golaghat          |
|    5 | Bihar                      |   5 | Nalanda, Patna, Vaishali, Katihar, Muzaffarpur          |
|    6 | Chhattisgarh               |   4 | Raipur, Dhamtari, Bilaspur, Kanker                      |
|    7 | Chandigarh                 |   1 | Chandigarh                                              |
|    8 | Dadar & Nagar Haveli & Diu |   2 | Silvasa, Diu                                            |
|    9 | Delhi                      |   1 | Jaffarpurkalan                                          |
|   10 | Goa                        |   1 | Canacona                                                |
|   11 | Gujarat                    |   4 | Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Tapi                  |
|   12 | Haryana                    |   3 | Hisar, Kurukshetra, Gurgaon                             |
|   13 | Himachal Pradesh           |   4 | Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Hamirpur                          |
|   14 | J&K                        |   2 | Udhampur, Ganderbal                                     |
|   15 | Jharkhand                  |   4 | Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Dhanbad, West Singhbhum             |
|   16 | Karnataka                  |   5 | Banglore Urban, Chitradurga, Mangalore, Shimoga, Mysore |
|   17 | Kerela                     |   3 | Kottayam, Palakkad, Ernakulam                           |
|   18 | Laddakh                    |   1 | Leh                                                     |
|   19 | Madhya Pradesh             |   5 | Indore, Vidisha, Jabalpur, Mandla, Dhar                 |
|   20 | Maharashtra                |   5 | Nagpur, Pune, Sangli, Nanded, Aurangabad                |
|   21 | Manipur                    |   1 | Chandel                                                 |
|   22 | Meghalaya                  |   2 | East Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi                               |
|   23 | Nagaland                   |   1 | Kohima                                                  |
|   24 | Odisha                     |   2 | Cuttack, Sambhalpur, Khordha, Sundergarh                |

| 25. Punjab        |   4 | Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mansa, Faridkot                                                 |
|-------------------|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 26. Puducherry    |   1 | Puducherry                                                                          |
| 27. Rajasthan     |   6 | Barmer, Dausa, Jaipur, Jodhpur Kota, Dungarpur                                      |
| 28. Sikkim        |   1 | North Sikkim                                                                        |
| 29. Telangana     |   2 | Rangareddy, Warrangal                                                               |
| 30. Tripura       |   1 | Khowai                                                                              |
| 31. Uttar Pradesh |   8 | Allahabad, Kanpur Nagar, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi |
| 32. Uttarakhand   |   5 | Almora, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal                                 |
| 33. West Bengal   |   4 | East Medinipur, West Medinipur, Nadia Bardhaman                                     |
| TOTAL             | 100 |                                                                                     |

- (e) The  expansion  of  Vigyan  Jyoti  Programme  for  3 rd   Phase  is  in progress to include 100 new districts along with 100 existing districts. Few districts of Bihar including Gopalganj are also included in PhaseIII of Vigyan Jyoti. The girls of Kendriya Vidyalaya are already enrolled in  the  programme  and  getting  benefits  of  Vigyan  Jyoti  Programme since the inception.
- (f) Several  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to encourage girl child of the country including the states of Bihar and Punjab. Vigyan Jyoti Programme of DST is providing various interventions,  exposure  and  facilities  to  meritorious  girls  for  their overall development and pursuance of career in STEM fields.  Besides Vigyan Jyoti Programme, another programme 'PRAGATI Scholarship' of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) support girl child to  study  technical  education. Further,  University  Grant  Commission (UGC) is also implementing 'Post-Graduate Indira Gandhi Scholarship for Single Girl Child' with an aim to compensate direct costs of girl education  to  all  levels.  Another  programme  'Begum  Hazrat  Mahal National  Scholarship'  of  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs  is  recognizing, promoting and assisting girl students belonging to National Minorities who cannot continue their education due to lack of financial support.

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