The Assam government will provide a subsidy of Rs 700/- month for hostel boarders, the Scheme for subsidy on mess dues of the boarders in hostels in Govt Provincialised Colleges and State Universities.

Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while presenting the Annual Budget for the financial year 2019-2020 has announced in para 51 of the Budget Speech 2019-20 that "I would like to announce a subsidy of Rs.700/- per student per month to be paid for 10 months in a year, irrespective of their economic status, on the mess bills, for those students staying in the hostels of Government or Provincialised Colleges and Universities, I hope this will reduce some of the anxieties confronting the parents".

The aim of the scheme is to provide subsidy to the boarders in hostels and to relief the parents from extra financial burden. The subsidy will be provided to the hostel boarders residing in the hostels in Government, Provincialised Colleges and State Universities of Assam. The subsidy is meant for all boarders irrespective of their Economic status.

The subsidy will be provided only for regular students. Any students who is expelled from the hostel will not be entitled to the subsidy and his name will be deleted from the list. Each boarder of the hostels will get Rs.700/- per month subsidy against their mess dues. The subsidy will be for 10 months in one academic year. The money will be transferred to beneficiaries through DBT.

The Registrars of Universities and Principals of Colleges have to submit the list of beneficiaries along-with Bank Account details for necessary reimbursement of the mess bills, the list of beneficiaries must be submitted by the concerned authorities to the Director of Higher Education, after admission is over with a soft copy preferably online for necessary sanction.

The Registrars of Universities and Principals of Colleges have to submit the utilization certificate in details in due course.