By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF) today felicitated six outstanding students as recipients of the prestigious ‘Professor Ghanashyam Dash Scholarship for Higher Education’ (PGDS). The scholarship supports meritorious students pursuing professional degrees in engineering, medicine, STEM, and liberal arts by covering 90% of academic fees and eligible expenses for their four-year degree, amounting up to Rs. 6 lakhs per recipient.
For the academic year 2024-2025, the scholarship has been awarded to six exceptional students: two of them pursuing engineering at premier IITs—Sandip Subhrajit Sahoo at IIT Hyderabad and Tarini Prasad Mishra at IIT BHU Varanasi—and four of them pursuing MBBS—Satyajeet Parida and Alok Kumar Sahoo at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Dibya Jyoti Jena at SCB Medical College & Hospital, Cuttack, and Ariyan Sahoo at FM Medical College & Hospital, Balasore.
During the felicitation ceremony, Mr Subhrakant Panda, Managing Director of IMFA and Trustee of Bansidhar & Ila Panda Foundation, said, “Education is a powerful catalyst for social transformation and economic progress. Through the Professor Ghanashyam Dash Scholarship, we invest in future leaders who will drive innovation and change in our society; and the mentorship component reflects our commitment to nurture the holistic development of these bright young minds and help them achieve their full potential.”
Instituted in 2005 by IMFA, this scholarship honours the legacy of renowned scholar and historian Late Prof. Ghanashyam Dash, father of late Mrs. Ila Panda. The program aims to provide equal opportunities through financial assistance to meritorious students, enabling them to pursue higher education without financial constraints.
Since taking over the scholarship program, BIPF has enhanced its impact by introducing a structured “Mentorship” component. All scholarship recipients are paired with executive mentors from IMFA’s Employee Volunteer Scheme. This mentorship initiative will provide students with professional counseling, moral support, academic guidance, and networking opportunities, helping them unlock their full potential and chart a well-planned career trajectory.
About Bansidhar and Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF)
In 2011, the Bansidhar and Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF) was established to implement sustainable and scalable interventions in the areas of health, education, livelihood, and water sanitation.
BIPF is structured to partner and collaborate with the Central and State governments as well as local and international organisations to implement programs and drive results for the marginalised communities of Odisha. Skilling & training of rural youth, helping rural household women on being self-reliant, health & hygiene of adolescent girls are some of our key initiatives spread across six districts in Odisha (Cuttack, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Angul and Khorda).
