Launching the Prime Minister School for Rising India (PM SHRI) at a function organised at Railway Auditorium in Bhubaneswar, Pradhan said the scheme is launched in 37 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 26 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in Odisha in the first phase.

He said the PM SHRI scheme was started on September 7, 2022 to cover 14,500 schools across the country at a cost of Rs 28,000 crore. Total 6,000 schools have been selected for the first phase and 4,000 more schools will be included in the second phase, he added.

“From today, 63 Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in Odisha of the total 97 Central schools in Odisha have been brought under the scheme. While the government had sanctioned Rs 50.8 crore for these schools for 2023-24, Rs 12.7 crore has already been paid,” the minister said.

Stating that these schools will be upgraded under the Centrally sponsored scheme, he said those will showcase all the components of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 and provide high-quality education in equitable, inclusive and joyful environment.

Appealing to chief minister Naveen Patnaik to implement the scheme in Odisha schools, Pradhan said two schools each in blocks and municipal areas would benefit. The Centre would provide a grant of Rs 2 crore to each school, he added.

The Minister dedicated the pollution-free and cost-effective compressed natural gas-based cremation system set up at Dharma Vihar in Odisha capital with the support of GAIL (India) Limited under its CSR initiatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to the ‘Ease of Living’ for citizens.

“PM Modi has always emphasised that people from all walks of life should lead an easy and healthy living. On that note, several developmental programmes and modern facilities have been introduced in Odisha. Starting from infrastructure development in Bhubaneswar under smart city projects, allocation of funds for urban development projects or this newly established gas-crematorium reflect PM Modi’s vision of ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Purvodaya Mission’,” he said.

The Minister further said that GAIL (India) has taken responsibility to establish three gas-based crematorium – two in Bhubaneswar and one in Cuttack – with an estimated cost of Rs 16 crore.

Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, senior officials from GAIL (India) were, among others, present on the occasion.

Addressing the National CA conference-2023 in Bhubaneswar, the Finance Minister said fast adoption of technology by these professionals will come in handy in such efforts. She asked CAs to embrace technology in a big way in their work as it would yield them huge productivity gains in their functioning.

“The Government is actively ensuring that India’s Chartered Accountants become global leaders and engage with counterparts from other countries, thus enabling the sharing of the best possible knowledge,” Sitharaman said.

Noting that India’s economy is driven by start-ups, new-age industries, and industries transitioning from traditional methods to modern approaches, she said all of this requires the support of CAs, guiding clients and encouraging them to embrace new technology. This will be possible only when CAs are at the top in adopting technology.

“I hope you will build on the success of the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) held in November 2022, and you should strive to forge more collaborations with other international organisations,” the Finance Minister added.

Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also addressed the event and said while India has become the 5th largest economy, we have also emerged as a global fin-tech superpower. “We are on course to become the 3rd largest economy. Our CA fraternity will be the catalyst of this economic growth,” he said

“They have to handhold and provide financial guidance to start-ups, women entrepreneurs, nano enterprises of the bottom of the pyramid and MSMEs for adding more strength and structure to India’s entrepreneurial spirit,” Dharmendra added.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. As per the circular dated 05.09.2018 issued by Unique Identification Authority of India, children may not be deprived/denied of their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar.”

He added, “The Department of School Education and Literacy has also issued a notification dated 29.11.2021 stating that no eligible child shall be denied benefit under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or furnishing proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of a child to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, producing an application for enrolment, the benefit shall be given to him by verifying his identity on the basis of other documents.”

The Centre has confirmed that no child should be denied admission to school for not having an Aadhaar card, reiterating previous announcements to this effect in 2018 and 2021. This comes amid reports of some schools still insisting on Aadhaar for admissions.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. As per the circular dated 05.09.2018 issued by Unique Identification Authority of India, children may not be deprived/denied of their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar.”

He added, “The Department of School Education and Literacy has also issued a notification dated 29.11.2021 stating that no eligible child shall be denied benefit under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or furnishing proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of a child to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, producing an application for enrolment, the benefit shall be given to him by verifying his identity on the basis of other documents.”

Several reports have highlighted how children, especially those
from marginalised communities, were deprived of their basic right to education as states had made Aadhaar mandatory for admission in government schools. Enrolling for Aadhaar requires birth certificates and address proof which many children belonging to vulnerable sections of society do not have.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court had said that no child could be denied benefits of any scheme for not having an Aadhaar number. “CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory, also it is not compulsory for school admissions,” it said.

Free education is to be provided to children between six and fourteen years of age under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

The Aadhaar norm has prevented the implementation of the RTE Act as well as violated the top court’s mandate.

In 2022, media reports said that food provision under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (school meal programme) was going to be linked with Aadhaar enrolment in Maharashtra. Reports quoted government data that close to 1.9 million students in the state did not have Aadhaar cards and that 5.9 million children were facing issues with their Aadhaar cards such as details not matching those on the school records.

The provision of free lunches on working days at schools is an important factor in the enrollment of children, especially in remote, tribal-dominated areas.

Activists have said that Aadhaar registration in rural areas had several hurdles as people are not technologically advanced to use Aadhaar-based processes.

Several states including Karnataka and the Telugu states have made their direct benefit transfer schemes Aadhaar-enabled including the RTE entitlements to students. Money is now directly transferred to the account number which is linked with the Aadhaar number.

Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had declared that Rs 1,100 will be transferred to the bank accounts of students’ parents to purchase school uniforms including sweaters, shoes, socks, and school bags. But by linking the scheme with compulsory Aadhaar enrolment, lakhs of UP schoolchildren did not receive funds (on account of Aadhaar cards not being made or being processed) and hence did not have adequate warm clothing to protect them in winter, a report in Newsclick said.

Inability to produce the Aadhaar ID card has even led to deaths due to hospitals denying treatment.

About 135.2 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated as of November 2022 while 71.1 crore Aadhaar numbers have been updated, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23.

In an August 11, 2022 circular, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had made it mandatory to have an Aadhaar number or its enrolment slip for availing government subsidies and benefits.