Over half a million students across Assam are about to see direct cash land in their accounts — a combined ₹58.59 crore flowing through two parallel scholarship schemes that the state government runs for both girls and boys pursuing education beyond Class X.

Nijut Moina: over 4.3 lakh girl students, ₹48.22 crore

The Nijut Moina scheme will reach 4,39,598 girl students with a total disbursement of ₹48.22 crore in this cycle. The monthly assistance is tiered by level of study: ₹800 per month for students in Classes XI and XII, ₹1,250 per month for undergraduates, and ₹2,500 per month for those pursuing postgraduate degrees. The design is deliberate — the amounts rise as the years of study lengthen and the opportunity cost of staying in education grows.

Keeping girls in school through the critical Class XI–XII transition — historically a high-dropout window — and then supporting them through college and a master's degree is the spine of the scheme. The tiered structure signals that the government wants to reward, not just initiate, educational persistence.

Nijut Babu: 1.02 lakh boys, ₹10.37 crore

Running alongside it, the Nijut Babu scheme will disburse ₹10.37 crore to 1,02,501 boy students. The rates are ₹1,000 per month at the undergraduate level and ₹2,000 per month for postgraduate study. The scheme does not extend to the Class XI–XII stage — that coverage gap underlines that the government treats secondary-level girl retention as the more acute policy problem in Assam.

Together, the two schemes put 5,42,099 students on direct benefit transfers, all tagged under the hashtag #NijutBabuMoina that the Chief Minister's Office of Assam used in its announcement on Thursday, 15 October 2026.

Why direct transfers for students matter in Assam

Several states have experimented with monthly stipends to reduce higher-education dropout rates, but Assam's dual-track model — running gender-specific schemes simultaneously rather than folding everything into one — allows the government to calibrate amounts and eligibility differently for girls and boys. The larger per-student and per-rupee allocation for girls under Nijut Moina reflects the documented enrolment gap at the secondary-to-higher-education transition in the Northeast.

Direct benefit transfers also reduce leakage compared with older voucher or fee-waiver models, putting cash directly in students' — or guardians' — hands to cover transport, books, and living costs that institutional fee-waivers never reach.

With the next disbursement cycle now in motion and more than half a million students on the rolls, the real test will be whether enrolment numbers in Assam's colleges and universities move in the same direction as the money.