PM Modi to launch and lay foundation stones of education projects, attend Vibrant Gujarat event on September 27

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat on September 27 to launch projects worth Rs 4,500 crore related to the education sector and address a public gathering at Bodeli town in tribal-dominated Chhotaudepur district, officials said on Friday.

Later that day, he will address an event organised by the Gujarat government at Science City here on the occasion of the completion of 20 years of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, an official release informed.

At Bodeli, the PM, before addressing a public gathering, will inaugurate or lay foundation stones for various projects under the state government's 'Mission Schools of Excellence' initiative, said Vinod Rao, secretary, primary and secondary education.

The 'Mission Schools of Excellence' was launched by the PM at an event in Adalaj in October last year with the aim of improving the quality of education in the state through upgrading of school infrastructure, building of new and smart classrooms as well as computer labs.

'Under the Mission Schools of Excellence, the PM will either inaugurate or lay the foundation for various projects worth Rs 4,500 crore at Bodeli on September 27. These projects include new classrooms, smart classrooms and computer labs coming up across the state,' Rao told PTI.

On the occasion, the PM will also launch several new schemes related to the education sector in the state, including Swami Vivekananda Gyan Shakti Residential Schools, Raksha Shakti Schools, Mukhya Mantri Gyan Setu Merit Scholarship and Mukhya Mantri Gyan Sadhna Merit Scholarship, said Rao.

Under the Mission Schools of Excellence project, the state government will spend Rs 10,000 crore in the next five years and cover all 35,133 government and 5,847 grant-in-aid schools.

These funds will be spent on building 50,000 new classrooms, creating 1.5 lakh smart classrooms, 20,000 new computer labs and 5,000 tinkering labs in 41,000-odd government and grant-in-aid schools across the state, the government had earlier said.

Meanwhile, the state government release said the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, on the theme 'Gateway to the Future', will be held in Gandhinagar between January 10 and 12 next year.

PM Modi had initiated the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2003 when he was chief minister with the aim of making the state a leader on the global map of industry and trade, said the release.