Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that from the academic year 2025–26, all Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) students pursuing medical and engineering education in any government college across India will receive full scholarships. A dedicated portal will be developed for this initiative.

The Chief Minister made this announcement while speaking as the chief guest at an event organised by the “All India Saini Seva Samaj” in Gurugram to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.

The event was also attended by Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, former Maharashtra Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal, MP Upendra Kushwaha, and Kalpana Saini.

Extending greetings for Baisakhi, CM Saini paid tribute to the great social reformer, thinker, writer, and philosopher Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. He also remembered the citizens who were martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre under General Dyer’s orders.

Mahatma Phule Dedicated His Life to Social Reform
The CM said that Mahatma Phule awakened society during British rule by fighting against child marriage, advocating widow remarriage, championing women’s education, eliminating untouchability, and empowering the marginalised. He and his wife Savitribai Phule—India’s first woman teacher and a social reformer herself—established the first school for girls in Pune. She dedicated her life to women’s rights, education, and empowerment.

The CM praised the All India Saini Seva Samaj for organizing the National Awakening Conference on Phule Jayanti and added that Mahatma Phule’s ideals guide us even today, much like Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.”

He said the Saini community has a proud history of hard work and service, with immense contributions to agriculture, horticulture, and public service. Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule are shining examples of the community’s legacy.

Welfare of the Poor is Our Ongoing Commitment
Reaffirming his government’s dedication to uplifting the poor, CM Saini said that empowering the underprivileged has always been their development focus. Last-mile delivery of schemes has transformed lives. Raising the income limit for the backward class creamy layer from Rs 6 lakh to ?8 lakh, and granting reservations to Backward Class-B in Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies are key initiatives.

To ease financial burdens, families earning up to Rs 3 lakh annually can avail education loans up to Rs 15 lakh for domestic studies and ?20 lakh for overseas education at just 4% annual interest.

Calling Haryana a farmer-friendly state, he said it is the first in India to procure 100% of crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP). Under the Har Ghar Grihini Yojana, 17 lakh poor families receive LPG cylinders for only ?500 per month.

The CM urged everyone to educate their children, calling it the truest tribute to Mahatma Phule.

MLAs Mukesh Sharma, Bimla Chaudhary, Usha Maurya, All India Saini Seva Samaj President Dilbagh Singh Saini, and many dignitaries were present on the occasion.