Joda: “I am currently studying in the ninth standard and have been receiving Jyoti Fellowship since I was in the seventh standard. Several of my friends from my school have also received this fellowship. We are grateful to Tata Steel for supporting us and giving us the resources to continue our studies. I wish to study further and become a doctor one day!”
Many such students belonging to the SC/ST communities have benefitted from Tata Steel’s endeavour in the field of education.
On an average, every year over 100 meritorious SC/ST students from villages around Katamati in the Keonjhar district of Odisha benefit from the Jyoti Fellowship programme. In the last nine years, Rs 34.18 lakh has been disbursed to students from Katamti under this fellowship. In 2020, as many as 130 students received the fellowship from Katamati region with the total amount of scholarship awarded being to the tune of over Rs. 5.5 lakh.
Jyoti Fellowship by Tata Steel Foundation is given to meritorious students to enable them to accomplish their educational and career aspirations. It identifies deserving candidates based on a test of academic merit. A student has to undergo a common written test conducted every year at two levels, school level (Class VII) and college-level (graduation first year). Once the student qualifies this test, he/she is eligible for fresh fellowship as well as renewal for consecutive years, subject to 45 per cent marks scored in the annual examination every academic year conducted by respective schools or colleges.
