Bhubaneswar, June 29: Srinibas Nandi felt fortunate today. Not only did he get a chance to meet chief minister Naveen Patnaik, but also earned praise for his success in the JEE.

Naveen today felicitated 63 students who had qualified the JEE in the 2017 academic session. The students, all from the Odisha Mining Corporation's "OMC Super" initiative, were given an appreciation letter.

"I am really happy that I got a chance to receive training for the JEE. It has changed my life," said Nandi.

Of 75 meritorious students, who had been provided with coaching, 63 students qualified the JEE (Main) exam while 38 cleared the JEE (Advanced), making them eligible for admission into the Indian Institutes of Technology.

The programme gives candidates from economically-backward families across the state a chance to prepare for the engineering entrance test and realise their career aspirations. It provides them with coaching and orientation to compete with other students in the country and crack the JEE.

From next year, 100 students will receive training under the project. "Other public sector undertakings will train another 100 candidates," Naveen added.

On the lines of Super 30 Patna, the project was initiated by IPS officer Abhayananda. Two batches of 30 students each were trained under this initiative of the OMC.

In this programme, students from Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Kalahandi, Koraput and Rayagada received training. All of them come from families with an annual income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh.

"Nurturing talents and empowering them to achieve their potential is our firm commitment," Naveen said during the event. "The select students will bring laurels to their families and to the state after completing their studies in their chosen fields," he added.