Tata Motors wants to help its technicians’ children to be able to fulfil their dreams and aspirations when it comes to higher education. The Indian automobile manufacturer has rolled out two initiatives, ‘Vidyadhan’ and ‘Utkarsha’ for the benefit of the children of its technicians from across its plants in Pune, Lucknow, Jamshedpur, Dharwad, Sanand and Pantnagar.
The ‘Vidyadhan’ programme offers education loans at concessional rates to support the higher education of children who have successfully passed Class 10 or 12. ‘Utkarsha’, on the other hand, offers annual scholarships for the benefit of girls, transgenders and specially-abled children.
Under the Vidyadhan programme, eligible technicians will be able to avail loans of up to Rs 7.5 lakh, covering up to 95 per cent of the fees for domestic education or up to 85 per cent of the fees for international education. Tata Motors will offer concessions over the interest rate being charged by the bank—50 per cent lower interest rate for boys and 70 per cent lower for girls, transgender individuals and specially-abled children. To qualify, the students must enrol in a full-time graduate or postgraduate course of minimum two years’ duration and affiliated with recognised universities or AICTE-equivalent institutions in India or abroad.
The ‘Utkarsha’ programme will provide a scholarship of Rs 25,000 every year to support the higher education of girls, transgender individuals, and specially-abled students once they clear grade 10th or 12th. Applicants must have scored a minimum of 60 per cent and secured admission in a recognised university or AICTE-equivalent institution in India or abroad.
Sitaram Kandi, chief human resources officer, Tata Motors, believes, “Quality education is vital for progress and development. With these programmes we are making higher education more accessible and enabling the next generation of our hardworking technicians to fulfil their own dreams as well as those of their parents.”
The children are free to pursue academic streams of their choice, while the company will give a hand in handling the financial part. The endeavour is aimed at ensuring that these children “have better opportunities to build a successful career and life with the right qualifications and skills.”
