The “Indira Priyadarshini Award” scheme was launched by the Secondary and Elementary Education Department, Government of Rajasthan, in the year 2019-20. The scheme aims to encourage academic excellence among girl students belonging to eight specified social categories: Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, Minority, Disabled, General Category, Special Backward Class, and Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Overview

Under this scheme, a one-time financial reward is provided to girl students who secure the first position in each district in Class 8th, Class 10th, and Class 12th (separately for Arts, Science, & Commerce streams) examinations conducted by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education. Additionally, a girl student who secures the first position at the state level in the Class 8th, Praveshika and Varishtha Upadhyay examinations conducted by the Sanskrit Education Department is also rewarded under this scheme in each of the above-mentioned social categories.

From the academic year 2021–22, the award has been extended to eight girl students of Class 10th and eight girl students of Class 12th who secure the first position at the state level in the vocational education examination within the specified social categories. Furthermore, from the same year, girl students of Swami Vivekanand Government Model Schools who secure the first position at the state level in the respective categories and obtain a CGPA of 9 or above are also eligible for the award.

Implementation: The scheme is implemented by the Balika Shiksha Foundation, Jaipur.
Award Ceremony: The awards are presented ceremoniously every year on November 19, the birth anniversary of Smt. Indira Gandhi, at the district headquarters.

Benefits

The scheme provides the following one-time financial rewards to the girl students:

• Class 8 Girl Students: ₹40,000/- cash prize (Who secure first position at the district or state level).
• Class 10 Girl Students: ₹75,000/- cash prize (Who secure first position at the district or state level).
• Class 12 Girl Students (Arts, Science, and Commerce streams – considered separately): ₹1,00,000/- cash prize (Who secure first position at the district or state level). A Scooty is also provided to all awardees of Class 12.
• Vocational Education (From 2021–22): Girls from the above categories who secure first position at the state level in vocational exams are also awarded.
• Swami Vivekanand Government Model Schools (From 2021–22): Top 8 girls each from Class 10 and Class 12 who score 9 CGPA or more are awarded at the state level.

Eligibility

• The applicant should be a native of Rajasthan.
• The applicant should be a girl student and enrolled as a regular student.
• The applicant should belong to one of the following categories: Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Minority Communities, Differently-abled (Disabled), General Category, Special Backward Classes (SBC), or Below Poverty Line (BPL).
• The applicant should have secured the first position at the district level in Class 8, 10, or 12 examinations (Arts, Science, or Commerce stream) conducted by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education.
• The student should have obtained at least 60% marks in the respective examination.
• Girl students who secure the first position at the state level in Class 8, (10) Praveshika, or (12) Varishtha Upadhyay examinations conducted by the Sanskrit Education Department are also eligible.
• Girl students securing the first position at the state level in vocational education examinations for Class 10 or 12 are eligible under the scheme.
• Girl students from Swami Vivekananda Government Model Schools who score a CGPA of 9.0 or above in Class 10 or 12 are also eligible.

Note: The caste/category certificate submitted by the student at the time of applying for the board examination will be treated as final.

Application Process (Offline)

Step 1: Eligible girl students should contact any of the following authorities based on their category: The District Education Officer (Head Office), The District Education Officer (Secondary Education – Nodal Officer), or The Directorate of Sanskrit Education (for Sanskrit award category).
Step 2: Request the prescribed application form in hard copy from the respective authority.
Step 3: Fill out the application form carefully. Attach self-attested copies of all required documents, as specified.
Step 4: Submit the completed application form along with the documents to the concerned office within the stipulated deadline.

Post-Application Process:

Step 1: The Nodal District Education Officer (Head Office) of Secondary Education will prepare a list of girl students who secured the first position in various board examination categories. This list must be submitted to the Directorate of Secondary Education by August 15. Or, For the Sanskrit Education category (Classes 8, 10 – Pre-Visharad, and 12 – Senior Secondary), the Directorate of Sanskrit Education will prepare the list of top-ranking girls and submit it by August 15 to the Directorate of Secondary Education.
Step 2: The Director, Secondary Education will compile and forward the final list of eligible candidates to the Secretary, Balika Shiksha Foundation for award disbursal.

Award Distribution:

Awards will be distributed by the District Education Officer (Head Office) and the Nodal Officers for Secondary and Sanskrit Education. The respective institution heads/principals will also be notified. If the awardee is currently enrolled in a different institution from where she appeared for the examination, the award will be presented at her current institution after due verification by the head of the institution.

Notes:
– Girls who are not currently enrolled in any institution or have discontinued their studies can still claim the award by submitting a self-declaration on plain paper.
– Awards will be distributed during the “Balika Shiksha Samman Samaroh”, held annually on September 19. If the event is postponed, a revised date will be announced in advance.
– Awards are non-transferable and are valid only for the specified category and academic year.

Documents Required

• Identity proof
• Caste Certificate Copy
• Residence proof
• Disability certificate, if applicable
• BPL Certificate, if applicable
• Bank Passbook Copy
• Education Qualification Marksheet/Certificate Copy
• Self-declaration (if not enrolled in any school)
• Recommendation from school principal/head (if still enrolled)