MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Vivek Anand Oberoi has initiated a campaign that intends to provide educational scholarships for children born to farmers in rural India. The scholarship is worth Rs 16 crore. The scholarship also aims at assisting children in villages crack competitive examinations like JEE and NEET.
The 'Saathiya' star said he wants to ensure that bright students are not held back from higher educational opportunities due to obstacles like the 'geography' they belong to.
Announcing the scholarship, the actor noted the importance of education, especially for children from rural areas. He said that every kid belonging to a village pulls not just his family but the entire village forward with him. He said, "There are so many meritorious and talented young students around us but they are unable to afford higher education and coaching even at a subsidised rate or go to a college of their choice due to financial difficulties. I didn't want such bright students to be neglected because of the geography they come from." Vivek Oberoi further added that he along with his team has initiated this scholarship to assist children from rural areas to achieve their dreams and career goals.
The scholarship programme has been launched under the i30 training programme, a digitisation of mathematician Anand Kumar's Super 30 programme.
Under this enterprise, 90 virtual learning centres will be set up in smaller cities which will impart training to students for IIT exams and medical entrance exams.
This, however, is not the actor's first foray into philanthropy. According to reports, the Yuva actor has been helping several cancer patients over the last 18 years. His company, Karrm Infrastructure Pvt Ltd., has donated 25 flats in the Thane district of Maharashtra to the families of Central Reserve Police Force officers killed in action. The actor has so far donated about ₹ 3 million and helped raise ₹ 25 million.
Workwise, Vivek Oberoi is working on his production ventures Rosie: Saffron Chapter, which will mark the debut of Shweta Tiwari's daughter Palak and Iti: Can You Solve your Own Murder. The actor was last featured in the Kannada movie Rustum.