The Jharkhand cabinet on Thursday approved its ambitious Anganwadi Chalo Abhiyan, an initiative aimed at providing pre-school training to children at anganwadi centres, an official said. The cabinet allocated Rs 211.48 crore for the initiative, which will cater to children between the ages of three and six years.
According to cabinet secretary Ajoy Kumar Singh, the pre-school classes have been categorised based on the age groups of children. “Classes for three to four-year-olds will be called Nav Kadam, for four to five-year-olds, Shishu Kadam, and for five to six-year-olds, Bal Kadam,” he said.
Each student enrolled in the programme will receive two T-shirts, two pants or skirts, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, one workbook, one activity book, one pencil box, and one packet of crayons annually, he added. An expenditure of Rs 1,400 will be incurred per student every year. Additionally, anganwadi centres will receive benches and desks every five years, he added.
The government also decided to provide 200 units of free electricity to families of the Tana Bhagat tribal community, who are ardent followers of Mahatma Gandhi. This decision was made during the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Champai Soren. The cabinet passed about 40 agendas, including increasing the tenure of Jharkhand Election Commissioner. Previously, the tenure of the commissioner was three years or until the age of 64. Now, the tenure will be extended to four years or until the age of 65.
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Furthermore, the cabinet approved an increase in the meal allowance from Rs 1,400 per month to Rs 2,290 per month for students of government residential schools, including Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and Subhas Chandra Bose Residential schools. Additionally, the approval to upgrade 166 high schools to plus-2 schools was also granted.
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