Call Toll Fee - 7065569969

SDG-1

No Poverty

Centurion University’s Commitment to SDG 1: No Poverty

Centurion University: Advancing Poverty Alleviation through the CARES Framework

Centurion University is strongly committed to Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1): No Poverty. Through its integrated framework—Community Engagement, Academic Excellence, Research, Entrepreneurship, and Social Impact—the University consistently works to eradicate poverty and empower marginalised communities across India.

Community Engagement: Strengthening Local Partnerships to Support Low-Income Groups

The University collaborates with community-based organizations to ensure equitable access to education and skill development for individuals from underprivileged backgrounds. It has established smart classrooms equipped with advanced technologies, including embedded systems, audio-visual tools, 5-axis CNC machines, wood engineering labs, and apparel manufacturing labs. These facilities provide hands-on, industry-relevant training that enhances employability and fosters entrepreneurship, helping individuals break the cycle of poverty.

Academic Excellence: Ensuring Inclusive Access for Students from Low-Income Households

Centurion University intentionally admits students from the lowest 20% of household income groups. In accordance with the Government of India’s Reservation Laws, the University allocates a significant number of seats to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC).

To promote inclusive education, the University has implemented the following measures:

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Centurion University offers a robust financial aid system supported by government and non-government agencies. Students securing 90% or above at the intermediate (10+2) level receive a scholarship of ₹25,000 per year, sponsored by the Aditham Lakshmana Rao and Seshamma Memorial Trust.

Application Fee Waivers

The University waives tuition fees for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, encouraging wider participation in higher education.

Support Services

Comprehensive support services—including tutoring, counselling, mentoring, and skill-oriented programs—help students succeed academically and personally.

Through these initiatives, Centurion University enhances access to higher education, reduces educational inequality, and promotes diversity and social mobility.

Research: Promoting Community Empowerment through Global Collaboration

The University’s involvement in the “Gajapati to Gabon” initiative demonstrates its commitment to global poverty alleviation. In collaboration with the Government of India, Centurion University supports Gabon’s first Agricultural Special Economic Zone (Agri-SEZ), focusing on food security, agricultural sustainability, and economic growth. This initiative benefits both Gabon and India by strengthening cross-border knowledge exchange and promoting sustainable development practices.

Entrepreneurship: Enhancing Economic Prosperity through Skill Development

Centurion University, in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), prioritizes livelihood-linked education. Its Innovation Agriculture Project spans nine tribal districts in South Odisha and three districts in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, training over 3,000 farmers and 124 community resource persons.

Under Project Atal, the University aims to double the income of one lakh small and marginal farmers across 200 blocks in Odisha, with 70,000 farmers already benefiting.

The University’s collaboration with Gram Tarang supports rice production using RNR (15048) variety and trains farmers through SEEDAP across multiple districts. Additionally, the Apparel Manufacturing Lab provides skill development to differently-abled and tribal youth, enabling them to secure employment or pursue entrepreneurship.

Social Impact: Improving Health and Community Well-Being

The “Healthcare on Wheels” program, funded by LTIMindtree, delivers essential healthcare especially vision care—to rural communities in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, focusing on families below the poverty line (BPL).

The University also organized four blood donation drives in 2024–25, collecting 75 units of blood and fostering a culture of social responsibility.

Centurion University further collaborates with nearby villages to promote sustainable agricultural practices, thereby improving farm productivity and supporting long-term poverty eradication.

Projects

In India, financial aid for university students from low-income backgrounds is provided through various schemes and scholarships offered by the government, private organizations, and educational institutions. The proportion of students receiving financial aid due to poverty can be understood through different programs and initiatives. The total number of students receiving financial aid from various schemes is 597, with an amount of  8826800 INR

  1. Government Scholarships and Schemes:
    • National Scholarship Portal : The NSP is a one-stop platform for various scholarships the central and state governments offer. Scholarships like the Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) provide financial aid to students from low-income families.
    • Central Sector Scheme of Scholarships for College and University Students: This scheme provides financial assistance to meritorious students from low-income families.
  2. Institutional Financial Aid:
    • Centurion University offers students institutional scholarships and financial aid based on merit and financial need. Centurion University has various scholarship programs to support economically disadvantaged students.
  3. Non- governmental Scholarships:
    • Numerous non-governmental organizations and foundations offer scholarships to support students from low-income families. Examples include the
  4. Education Loans:
    • Education loans are another common form of financial aid. Many banks in India offer education loans with favourable terms for students from low-income families by giving relevant documentation of the student needed for avail educational loans

Number of students received scholarship in 2023 : 597

The total number of students : 1,681

Centurion University targets to admit students from the lowest 20% of household income brackets. The university colludes with the Government of India’s Reservation Laws, providing a considerable percentage of seats to the various categories of students such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. Since the University has been rendering its services across the various regions within India. It is targeting to uplift the demographic profile of the people by extending its services in the form of higher education. On account of achieving the targeted outcomes, Centurion University has been doing the following.

  1. Financial Aid and Scholarships: The University has evolved a vigorous financial aid system by itself and has also connected to various Government and Non-Government organizations for scholarships and grants in order to reach the particular needs of financially depressed students. Apart from it, the students who scored 90% and above marks in intermediate or at 10+2 level will be granted a scholarship worth of ₹ 25,000  per year sponsored by Aditham Lakshmana Rao and Seshamma Memorial Trust”.
  2. Application Fee Waivers: The University charges no tuition fee for low-income students. This encourages them to apply and explore their educational options.
  3. Support Services: The University extends exhaustive support services such as tutoring, counselling, mentoring and skill oriented programs to help the students from distinct backgrounds in order to make them to succeed academically and personally.

By executing these strategies, Centurion University not only enhancing the  access to higher education for students from the lowest income profile  but also extending the financial aid  to decrease the educational inequality, fostering diversity, and promoting social mobility in India.

 

Graduation Completion Targets for Students

Centurion University confirms graduation completion targets for students through the mix of financial, academic, and support initiatives. Following are the certain strategies for Indian universities:

  1. Financial Assistance:
  • Need-Based Scholarships: Offers scholarships specifically tailored to low-income students, covering tuition, fees, and living expenses. In the year 2021- 2022, it has been extended an amount of ₹ 2,13,51,250 to the total number of 143 students benefited from scholarships out of 361 students and  in the year 2022-2023, an amount of ₹ 2,11,48,050 to  a total number of 134 students benefited from scholarships out of 495 students. In the year 2023-2024, it has been extended an Amount of  ₹88,26,800 to a total number of  597 students who benefited from scholarships out of 1433

Tuition Fee Flexibility:

 

    • Deferred Payment Plans:  It is the policy of the Centurion university that it is allowing the students to pay tuition fees in deferred payments to reduce their financial burden. At the time of COVID, the University had facilitated the deferred payments by a year. At present, the University permits all of its students to pay the tuition fee minimum of two instalments.
  1. Academic Support:
    • Remedial Classes: The Deans of distinctive schools are in finding the learners of various programmes and  extending remedial classes as extra  support in specific subjects.
  1. Mentorship and Counselling:
    • Mentorship Programs: The University has a rigorous committed mentorship program in place of where faculty members guide and support students.

By executing these strategies, Centurion University significantly improves the graduation rates for students. In the year 2023, the overall pass percentage of students is 80. These measures thereby accord to social equity and reduce educational disparities..

Endeavours to Enhance Access to Basic Services for All

Centurion University has been extending its services in the name of skill development courses such as light motor vehicle driving and heavy motor vehicle driving training to the unemployed rural and urban people. Centurion University has been providing free awareness camps and handed over the free plants  to the rural people through tissue culture plantation centre at the campus for uplifting rural farmers in and around vizianagaram. Centurion University has been offering sewing machine operation  training to the rural women for shaping their lives and empowering them for their living. Centurion University has registered its skill courses in collaboration with NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation ) for its authenticity.

 Contribution to Policy Making at All Levels to Combat Multidimensional Poverty.

At the Local, Regional, and National Levels

Centurion University in collaboration with Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services (GTIDS) imparted NABARD sponsored IIBF training to over 4000+ business correspondent agents and designed integrated BBA programme exclusively for its business correspondent agents. The BBA programme is designed to help candidates to acquire the essential knowledge of finance, banking in general along with entrepreneurial skills in particular. Over 1000 business correspondent agents enrolled in this programme. Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services ( GTIDS ) is active in financial inclusion space and working as business correspondent for technology companies and various banks. GTIDS recruited 10000+ bank mitras in over 30,000 villages for 16 banks across 15 states. GTIDS opened over 1.7 crore no-frill accounts, including 81 lakh accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana ( PMJDY ). Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services disbursed more than Rs 430 crore micro finance loans to over 1,60,000 beneficiaries under Mudra Scheme. Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services( GTIDS ) developed their own technology in 2018 and signed agreements with 8 banks. It is currently operating in 11 states across 5000+ business correspondent locations. GTIDS extended Soyog loans in association with Andhra Pradesh Gramina Vikas Bank ( APGVB ). GTIDS has been extending Jagananna Thodu Loans ( Andhra Pradesh State Government Sponsored ) in association with APGVB. GTIDS has been extending agri and agri allied loans in association with State Bank of India. GTIDS has been extending Mudra loans in association with Panjab National Bank.

 

This Apparel Manufacturing Unit offers skill training courses from basic to advanced levels to prepare trainees for career advancement and better wages, upgrade the knowledge and skill levels of the existing workforce and facilitate the training of trainers employed at various training centres in the country.

Differently-abled youth are trained in this Unit with the aim of making them competent, capable and confident in gaining employment or starting entrepreneurial ventures and thereby becoming accepted as an important and respected part of their community and society.  It is worth mentioning that few of these differently-abled trainees are girls, out of which about 50-60% are from nearby village communities. The entire training is provided in residential mode.

In general, trainees belong to below poverty line (BPL) families, and mobilization is done from the remotest parts of Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh (Panchayati Raj Department conducts Job Melas at Gram Panchayat, Block Office & District Headquarters) and informal channels of a well-managed team of field workers.

The Apparel Manufacturing Unit offers skill training courses with the following major objectives:

  1. Sensitization and amplification of advanced sewing technology
  2. Training Delivery of School/ College Dropout youth from rural poor families
  3. RPL & Up-skilling of those working in the apparel industry for better wages and career progression
  4. Training of Trainers in the apparel skills ecosystem in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
  5. Economic empowerment of the marginalised communities, especially from remote and difficult geographies, towards earning a livelihood with pride and dignity.

Centurion University is unwavering in its commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 1, which aims to eradicate poverty in all its forms. Through various initiatives, educational programs, and community engagement, the university strives to empower individuals and communities, particularly those in need, with the knowledge and skills to uplift themselves economically and socially, contributing to the global effort to eliminate poverty.

Community Engagements:

Centurion University`s commitment to community engagement is focused on working with local communities to conduct awareness camps on poverty-related challenges. It includes extending skill-building opportunities, encouraging income-generation programs, and encouraging   the students and faculty to involve in various aresearch projects aimed at eradication of poverty. Centurion University seeks to promote   economic and social empowerment within the community through these drives and rendering its services towards the eradication of the poverty.

Electric Vehicle Assembly and Service Technology (E-V Unit)

The goal of this Electric Vehicle (EV) Unit is to transform the transportation sector by offering environmentally friendly and reasonably priced electric vehicles that cater to the demands of contemporary consumers. The unit is committed to creating and producing groundbreaking electric vehicles that are not only practical but also sophisticated and enjoyable to drive.

The University is committed to actively involving students in the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs). To achieve this goal, the university provides candidates with comprehensive knowledge about EVs and related subjects. The aim is to train students to understand the workings of EVs and their recent trends. The university involves students in designing the full-scale power train for EVs, which enhances their employability. This unit bridges the gap between conventional learning methods and application-based learning processes for the students, empowering them with the skills to face future challenges.

  • To provide candidates with in-depth and detailed knowledge about electric vehicles and the subject associated.
  • To get expertise in the basics of power converter operation
  • To design the full-scale power train for electric vehicles.
  • To know the Battery Management System Design and Control.
  • To get Hands-on Experience to design the Electric VehicleTo Get in-depth Knowledge

 

© 2024 Centurion University