HYDERABAD-The 2019 and 2020 batches of NMDC Balika Shiksha Yojana received their GNM and B.Sc (Nursing) certificates today in Hyderabad. A total of 80 students from the two batches were congratulated during the convocation ceremony held at Hari Hara Kala Bhavan, Secunderabad in the presence of senior NMDC officials.

The NMDC has been implementing the Balika Shiksha Yojana program since 2011-2012 to sponsor poor tribal female students from Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh to attend a nursing course at the Apollo Institute of Nursing, Hyderabad. Under this program, every year, 40 poor students from underprivileged backgrounds have been sponsored to pursue their studies in nursing for a decade now.

This initiative has so far benefited approximately 400 female tribal students from socio-economically disadvantaged sections of the communities residing around NMDC’s operations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. At the end of the training, these students are placed in several public and company hospitals across the country.

This program has not only built role models for young women living in Bastar, but has also supported the government’s efforts in promoting health care in the aspirational districts of Bastar Division.

NMDC’s CSR interventions in education and skills development have enabled students to achieve their dreams in some of the most remote areas of our country.

Wishing the female students a bright career, Shri Sumit Deb, CMD, NMDC said, “It is a matter of pride for NMDC to contribute to the journey of female tribal students to become health professionals of the country. I hope these young women will become agents of change in their communities, like their elders.