The stipend amount for students of nursing, pharmacy, and other related categories has been hiked as per a PTI report. Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, today, Wednesday, January 3, approved the hike in the stipend.

The decision was taken after a request was put forth to the ministry by the students regarding the matter.

What is the hike in the stipend amount?
According to an official release, students of Diploma in Pharmacy will now receive  Rs 500 per month, up from the earlier amount of Rs 250; Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM) will receive Rs 2,000 instead of Rs 1,000; BSc (Nursing) interns will now get Rs 5,000 instead of Rs 2,500.

Students pursuing their MPhil in Clinical Psychology and MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work will receive Rs 10,000, up from Rs 7,000, an official release said.

According to the PTI report, the decision was taken after the realisation of the importance of such services that are being rendered by them.

According to odishatv.in, a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), it was stated that the chief minister expects that this enhancement will now encourage students to extend better services to the people, and will further strengthen health services in Odisha.