The ceremony, headed by Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Siva, Commander of the Army as the Chief Guest, saw those 80 students learning in Grade 1-5 receive Rs 15,000/=, those in Grade 6-10 Rs 20,000/= and those learning up to university level from Grade 11 Rs 25,000/= as cash deposits in their People's Bank 'Sisu Udana' pass books which can be withdrawn only for educational purposes.

Peoples' Bank in the same ceremony offered incentives by way of gifting dictionaries, world maps, book parcels, wrist-watches, wall clocks, umbrellas, school bags, water bottles, caps, etc to those recipients as a symbol of appreciation of the ASVU services.

This project has been organized on the directives of the Commander of the Army who is of the view that welfare assistance would certainly help enhance the productivity and efficiency of the serving soldiers, defence sources said.

It also assists the soldiers to a great extent as a redress and relief to tackle the economic burden that plagues soldiers and their families.

Distribution of those scholarships was done by the Commander, the ASVU President and several other senior ASVU members and Army officers. Intermittent entertaining features of the 'Ranwala Balakaya' folk songs and colourful stage presentations, coupled with performances of students at Janakala Kendraya, added glamour and colour to the day's event.

A large gathering of parents, senior ASVU members and senior officers were present to witness the day's ceremony.

A documentary film that describes ASVU projects and other welfare activities was also screened during the ceremony.