Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said on Sunday that under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, Rs 7,622 crore has been given so far in 2021-22 for states and Union Territories (UTs) to continue various initiatives.

Union Education Minister tweeted, “An amount of INR 7622 crore has been released so far in 2021-22 to states and UTs under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for continuity of various initiatives such as free textbooks and uniforms, running of KGBVs, teaching, vocational education, ICT and digital initiatives.

This money will be used for free textbooks and uniforms, support for teachers’ salaries and in-service training, running of KGBVs, teaching, vocational education, ICT and digital initiatives, etc.

Mr Pokhriyal said the (PRABANDH) Project Appraisal, Budgeting, Achievements, and Data Handling System launched last year has enabled remote approval of annual plans of states under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

It has enabled states to upload plans and everyone to view and appraise it from remote/own locations with automatic compilation by the system, resulting in consolidated recommendations and cost sheets. This was unimaginable in physical mode, added Education Minister.