Chandigarh October 12
With a view to promote science and technology and science education among the youth of the State and encourage research in key areas, the Haryana Government has so far released about Rs two crore to more than 400 science students under various scholarship schemes.
Under the Promotion of Science Education (POSE) scholarship scheme, Rs 1.38 crore was released as scholarships at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and Rs 6,000 per month to 200 meritorious students each of B.Sc 1st year and M.Sc (Prev), respectively, from October, 2014 till date. During the same period, Rs 56.52 lakh have been disbursed to 35 Research Fellows under the fellowship scheme for Ph.D. scholars.
The Haryana State Innovation Council, which was constituted with the objective of promoting innovation, innovators and encouraging innovation in the governance and public service delivery in the State, was supporting District Innovation funds through grants from Central Finance Commission. The project proposals of all the districts amounting to about Rs 20.26 crore were sanctioned by the Science and Technology Department after the approval of High Level Monitoring Committee (HLMC), and about Rs 16.48 crore have been released to the districts till date for implementation of these projects.
Apart from this, the Department confers the Haryana Vigyan Ratna and Yuva Vigyan Ratna Awards on eminent scientists from the State, who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Science and Technology. Nominations for these awards for the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 were invited from October, 2014 till date. A meeting of Selection Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary for finalisation of these awards was held on October 4, 2016 and the recommendations of the committee have been submitted to the Government for approval. The nominations for 2015-16 and 2016-17 have also been invited up to November 30, 2016.
The Department organises various other science popularisation activities such science quiz contests at district, zonal, and state levels, science essay writing competitions at district and state levels, celebration of National Science Day, District Children Science Congresses and Science Conclaves. Since October 2014, the department has organised three Science Conclaves.
Among the facilities being run by the Department, Kalpana Chawla Memorial Planetarium (KCMP) at Kurukshetra is imparting non-formal education on astronomy and astrophysics to students and the masses by organising shows on various programmes on astronomy. The entry tickets for the Planetarium, which has a seating capacity of 120 persons, are prices at Rs 30 for general visitors and Rs 15 for students in organised groups. About 2.61 lakh tourists visited the KCMP, and revenue of about Rs 56.56 lakh has been generated by the Planetarium from October, 2014 till date.
