Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched a new scheme "Kalinga Siksha Sathi Yojana" to provide education loan at one per cent interest to students for pursuing higher studies.The state government will meet the fund requirement of about Rs 500 crore from its own resources."In line with the promise of providing education loan at less interest rate, today the state government has decided to provide education loan at 1 per cent per annum. This will be a major help for students pursuing higher education including Management, Law, Engineering, Medicine etc," said the Chief Minister.Asserting that he fully understood the financial stress parents undergo in meeting the education cost of their children, Patnaik said the historic and pioneering step of the government will reduce the loan burden of lakhs and lakhs of parents.This will also financially empower the poor students to pursue their aspiration in higher education, he added."I dedicate the scheme to the foresight of Biju babu on his birth centenary who had instituted 'Kalinga UNESCO' award for the popularisation of science when he was only 35 years old," said the Chief Minister.