Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote a letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, December 6, requesting to implement the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) scheme.

Pradhan said that Odisha should implement the scheme so that the state 'does not miss out on the benefits of the scheme', a report by ANI said.

In his letter to Patnaik, the education minister said the PM-USHA scheme will continue till March 2026 with a total outlay of Rs 12,926.10 crore but the states are required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education for its implementation.

"The PM-USHA Scheme is an important step of the central government towards implementing the vision of National Education Policy, 2020, to attain higher levels of access, equity, and excellence in the states/UTs higher education system by prioritising the unserved and underserved areas, to be identified by states/UTs as focus districts in the basis of low GER, population of SC/ST, Left-wing affected areas etc," the letter said.

The scheme also aims at creating new institutions and transforming the existing ones, the letter said.

"The commitment on planning and drafting the proposals by your state by aligning it with reforms such as multiple entry-exit, academic bank of credits, National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF), Indian knowledge systems, etc, will lead to better integration between the policies and schemes of the government for improving higher education in the country," he said.

The process for submission of proposals to receive grant-in-aid under the scheme has already started through a dedicated portal, Pradhan added.

Pradhan requested the Odisha CM to personally look into the matter so that the state does not miss out on the benefits of the scheme, ANI added.