Under Maharashtra's 'Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari' Scheme, Meritorious Students will now have the Opportunity to visit NASA and ISRO

The Government of Maharashtra has launched a new scheme for school students called ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari,’ through which academically gifted students in the field of science will have the opportunity to visit world-class research and space organisations such as ISRO and NASA. The State School Education Minister, Dadaji Bhuse, stated that the primary objective of this action is to promote a scientific mood, an interest in research, and a desire to learn new things among students. This project has been launched in setup with the National Education Policy 2020.

‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari’ is a special educational plan by the Government of Maharashtra, under which students who show excellence in science will be selected at various levels. The selected students will have the opportunity to visit institutions such as science centres, ISRO, and NASA. According to the government, this scheme will not only keep students in the realm of examinations but will instead introduce them to the real world of science and research. Therefore, this is expected to support a greater number of students in the future to pursue careers in the fields of science and technology.

The Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned approximately ₹3.30 crore for this project. To ensure the proper performance of the plan, separate committees will be created at the Taluk, District, and State levels. The government has stated that funds for this project will be allocated through the District Planning Committee and the State Budget. There is also potential for this initiative to be scaled up significantly in the long run.

Under the 'Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari' scheme, students will be selected through science exhibitions managed at various stages. Approximately 2,148 students selected at the Taluk level will have the opportunity to visit a nearby science centre; 180 students selected at the District level will visit the ISRO centre in Bengaluru; and the top 51 students selected at the State level will have the opportunity to visit NASA in the United States. This selection process has been structured in a phased manner to ensure that students from different regions of the state receive equal opportunities.

Last month, under the ‘Mission Bharari’ project, 59 students from the rural areas of Thane district were selected for a visit to ISRO. This project was launched at the initiative of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde. Approximately 9,316 students from Classes 5 through 8, hailing from various Zilla Parishad schools across the district, participated in the initiative. Following a multi-stage selection process, 59 students were ultimately chosen. The majority of these selected students attend Marathi-medium schools.