More than 5 lakh students in Assam are about to get a financial lifeline — and the clock starts ticking on 6 August 2026. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on 31 July 2026 that the state will spend over ₹300 crore this academic year to ensure higher education remains within reach for every student, regardless of their family's income.

Nijut Moina and Nijut Babu: the twin engines of the push

The outlay flows through two dedicated schemes: Nijut Moina, which supports girls pursuing higher education, and Nijut Babu, its counterpart for boys. Together, they form the backbone of the state's effort to close the financial gap that forces thousands of students to drop out each year. Form distribution for both initiatives begins 6 August, marking the formal start of this academic cycle's enrolment.

CM Sarma framed the announcement in direct terms: 'This year, we will spend over ₹300cr to ensure our kids are able to pursue higher education without any financial burden.' The language is deliberate — this is not a loan scheme or a conditional grant tied to merit alone. It is positioned as a broad-based relief for students from economically weaker households across the state.

Why Assam is betting big on gross enrolment

Assam, like much of the North-East, has historically struggled with low gross enrolment ratios in higher education. Financial hardship remains one of the most cited reasons students abandon college after Class 12. The twin schemes are the state government's most direct lever against that trend — reducing the cost barrier rather than just building more institutions.

The scale of the commitment — over ₹300 crore in a single academic year — signals that this is no longer a pilot programme. It is a structural budget line. For the BJP government in Dispur, the political dividend is equally clear: a tangible, name-tagged benefit reaching over half a million young voters and their families ahead of the next electoral cycle.

What happens after 6 August

The immediate test is logistics. Distributing forms to and processing applications from 5 lakh-plus students across Assam's districts — many of them remote — demands a delivery machinery that matches the ambition of the announcement. The government's ability to disburse benefits on time, without leakage, will determine whether the scheme's headline numbers translate into real relief at the ground level.

If the rollout holds, it would represent one of the largest single-year student financial assistance efforts by any North-Eastern state — a benchmark that neighbouring states in the NEDA bloc will be watching closely.