Ranchi: Jharkhand Human Resources Development (HERD) Baijnath Ram on Monday announced that all girl students studying in Class 8 would be provided free bicycles.

"In the current financial year, 35,000 girl students of standard eight of general category will be provided free bicycles," said the minister said at a press conference here on Monday.

The state government is already providing free bicycles to students of Scheduled Tribe (SC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and backward communities. Now girl students of the general category will also get free bicycles.

The move is aimed to improve the literacy rate among women. At present the female literacy rate in Jharkhand is around 50 percent. The HRD minister also announced to open secondary and higher secondary school at distance of 5 km and 7 Km respectively. IANS