Nagpur: Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a steep hike in cash prizes awarded at the state-level science exhibition, and the school education department issued a formal letter detailing the revised amounts and their applicability. In a communication issued by principal secretary Ranjit Singh Deol, the department clarified that the enhanced prizes apply uniformly to prize-winning students, teachers, laboratory assistants and attendants across categories.As per the cabinet decision taken on February 10, the first prize amount has been increased to Rs51,000, second prize to Rs31,000, the third prize to Rs21,000 and the fourth prize to Rs11,000. In addition, three incentive prizes — first, second and third — carry Rs10,000 each. The revised prize structure applies at the state-level science exhibition to winners from the primary and secondary sections, covering general, tribal and divyang categories, as well as the teacher category and the laboratory assistant and attendant category.The govt decision also expanded the scope of cash awards in specific groups. According to the official note, students from the tribal and divyang categories securing 2nd, 3rd and 4th ranks, as well as those receiving incentive prizes, were also eligible for direct cash awards under the revised norms.The move follows an assurance given during the 52nd state-level science exhibition, which was held at Shri Shivaji Science College in Amravati from January 28 to February 1, 2025. During the exhibition, minister of state for school education Pankaj Bhoyar had announced that the prize amounts would be increased, citing the need to meaningfully encourage scientific temper and innovation among students. The proposal was subsequently examined by the department and placed before the cabinet for approval.Bhoyar said, “Earlier prize amounts were extremely inadequate and did not reflect the importance of nurturing scientific thinking among students. For us, encouraging creativity, innovation and a sense of responsibility towards the nation was the primary objective behind substantially enhancing the prize money.”Officials said the revised prize structure was expected to provide significant motivation to students, teachers and supporting staff participating in the state-level science exhibition, which also served as the selection platform for exhibits to be sent to the national-level science exhibition organised by NCERT.
