To encourage civil services aspirants, the Telangana Government and Singareni Collieries Company have launched a scheme to support them. All those who cleared the preliminary examination will get assistance of ₹1 lakh each.

“The Rajiv Gandhi Civils Abhaya Hastham will provide the assistance to help them prepare well for the mains examination. This will encourage more students to apply for civil services examination,” a Government spokesperson has said.

Under the SCCL corporate social responsibility programme, the scheme covers candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, women and economically weaker section candidates in the general category. The annual income of the family should not exceed ₹8 lakh.

Of the 14 lakh aspirants that appear for the preliminary examination nationally, about 50,000 are from Telangana. Of these, about 400-500 candidates clear the exam and appear for the mains exam.

“The financial assistance will be handy for them as prepare for the mains,” he said.

The scheme, however, is limited to candidates hailing from Telangana.