Mumbai: The Maharashtra government plans to send 51 students every year to NASA in the United States, Minister of State for School Education Pankaj Bhoyar said on Thursday.

Under the scheme, students with the top 21 projects from tehsil-level competitions will visit a science centre in their division, the top 51 district-level projects will visit ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, and 51 state-level finalists will go to NASA under the 'Chief Minister Vidyarthi Vigyan Vari' scheme.

Bhoyar said, “We want to recognise students' efforts beyond winners, which is why this plan was made.”

A school education department official said tehsil and district-level tours will be funded by the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC), while the NASA trip, costing Rs 3 crore, requires state-level approval. The plan awaits final fund clearance, though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis approved it in June 2025.

The scheme aims to motivate students to pursue science beyond competitions. Recently, the government increased the prize money for state-level winners from Rs 5,000 to Rs 51,000.