12 posts to be created for women station officers in Fire and Rescue Services

The State Cabinet approved the creation of 12 new women station officer posts in the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services on Wednesday.

Half of the newly created positions will be filled through direct recruitment by the Kerala Public Service Commission, while the remaining will be filled by promotion among women officers presently in service.

A new scheme, ‘Connect to Work Scholarship,’ will be launched to provide stipends and financial assistance to students to help them secure better employment. Under this scheme, youth aged between 18 and 30 years who are pursuing various skill development courses or preparing for various job or competitive examinations after completing Plus Two, ITI, diploma and degree courses, and whose annual family income is below ₹1 lakh, will receive a monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000. It is expected that five lakh people will benefit from this scheme. The government will allocate ₹600 crore annually for its implementation.

The Cabinet also sanctioned a hike in the monthly salary of guest lecturers by a maximum of ₹2,000. The revision will result in an additional annual expenditure of ₹2.07 crore for the State exchequer.