New Delhi: India will spend Rs.20 billion ($424.6 million) on building girls' hostels for students of secondary and higher secondary schools in each of the country's 3,500 educationally backward blocks of the country, it was announced here on Friday.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) "gave its approval for a revised centrally sponsored scheme for construction and running of girls' hostels for students of secondary and higher secondary schools in each of the educationally backward blocks during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12)", Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters.

"The CCEA also gave its approval to incur expenditure of Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion) as the central share with a sharing pattern of 90:10 between the centre and the states," he added after the meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The revised scheme provides for construction of 3,500 hostels through state governments in all the educationally backward blocks in the country in addition to recurring grants to meet the needs of inmates.

"This will help improve the educational level of girl students in these backward blocks," Dasmunsi said. IANS