As part of its initiatives to empower socially weaker sections of society, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 30 Central Universities in the country to set up Dr. Ambedkar Centre of Excellence (DACE) on their campuses and start coaching Scheduled Castes candidates aspiring to appear for competitive examinations for Civil Services conducted by UPSC (Union Public Service Commission).
Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Vice-Chancellor of Central University, Karnataka (CUK), Battu Satyanarayana said that the MoUs were signed at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on April 22 in the presence of Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Secretary of the Ministry R. Subrahmanyam.
Prof. Satyanarayana said that each one of the 30 Central Universities will, as per the MoU, set up DACE and admit a maximum of 100 candidates, 33 of whom will be women, belonging to Scheduled Castes, to offer UPSC exam coaching free. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will fund the project by providing ₹75 lakh per annum for each university, at ₹75,000 a candidate.
