Lok Sabha Question No. 697 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: Vigyan Jyoti Programme
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Gaddam Ranjith Reddy

## MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 697 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07/02/2024

Vigyan Jyoti Programme

## 697. DR. G. RANJITH REDDY:

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

- (a) the aims and objectives of Vigyan Jyoti Programme;
- (b) whether eleven districts in Telangana are covered under Vigyan Jyoti Programme and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the number of girl students covered in the identified total districts in Telangana along with the benefits/ facilities that are given to identified girls, district-wise; and
- (d) the details of the budget provided for this programme with a particular reference to Telangana?

## A N S W E R

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

ͪव£ान और Ĥौɮयोͬगकȧ मंğालय क े  राÏयमंğी (èवतंğ Ĥभार) (डॉ. िजतɅġ ͧसंह)

- (a) The 'Vigyan Jyoti' programme started in the year 2019-20 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) aims to encourage meritorious girl students of Class 912 to pursue higher education and careers in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics),  particularly  in  the  areas  where  women  are  underrepresented.  The objectives of this programme are:
1. To  balance  low  representation  of  girls  in  different  streams  of  Science  and Technology (S&T) from the beginning
2. To facilitate conducive/enabling environment from School level to College level and from research level to job level.
3. To enhance girls' ratio in underrepresented areas at UG level and ensure gender parity.

4. Feeder to increase the gender parity in STEM at successive levels (UG, PG, PhD, Post Doc).
5. Easy access to S&T information and knowledge in association with Knowledge Partners (KPs).
3. (b) In Telangana, Vigyan Jyoti Programme is covering eight (8) districts that include Rangareddy, Warangal, Adilabad, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Mahaboob Nagar, Khammam, and Nizamabad.
4. (c) A total of 585 girl students are covered in the identified eight (8) districts of Telangana and have benefitted through various year-round activities such as science camps, special lectures/classes, counselling of students-parents and interaction with role  models.  Further,  special  sessions  on  curriculum-based  experiential  learning namely, C-STEM for class IX-X girls, and Sparkle series for Class XI-XII girls along with other  tinkering  activities  are  also  being  conducted  for  a  better  understanding  of principles  and  concepts  of  the  STEM  curriculum.  In  addition  to  these,  hands-on experiments,  cyber  security  workshops,  PyCode  sessions,  coadethon,  and  science quizzes have been organized. Moreover, the girls of Class XI-XII enrolled under Vigyan Jyoti  are  supported  with  a  scholarship  of  Rs.2,000/-  per  month  for  one  year.  The district-wise list of beneficiaries is mentioned below:
5. (d) The  budget  of  Rs.  47.37  crore  is  allocated  for  Phase-IV  of  the  Vigyan  Jyoti programme in the financial year 2023-24 and the share of Telangana is Rs. 1.46 crore.

| Sl. No.   | Districts of Telangana   |   Number of girls benefitted during 2023-24 |
|-----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| 1.        | Rangareddy               |                                         100 |
| 2.        | Warangal                 |                                          77 |
| 3.        | Adilabad                 |                                         100 |
| 4.        | Nalgonda                 |                                          42 |
| 5.        | Karimnagar               |                                          38 |
| 6.        | Mahaboob Nagar           |                                          86 |
| 7.        | Khammam                  |                                          42 |
| 8.        | Nizamabad                |                                         100 |
|           | Total                    |                                         585 |

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