On 14 June 2026, newly married actors Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna launched the “Virosh Scholarship” initiative through The Deverakonda Foundation in Thummanpet village, within Telangana’s Achampet region. The program covers the complete educational expenses of 180 meritorious Class 9 and 10 students specifically the first and second rank holders across 44 regional government schools.
Designed to alleviate immediate financial burdens on economically vulnerable families, the launch brought together students, parents, local educators, and political leaders like MLA Vamsi Krishna to celebrate grassroots academic merit. Moving forward, the actors have pledged to expand this program annually, with the ultimate goal of supporting underprivileged, top-performing government school students throughout the entirety of Telangana.
Roots and Realised Promises
For Vijay Deverakonda, this mission was deeply personal and anchored in family history. Thummanpet is the exact ancestral village where his father, Govardhan Rao, was born and raised. The blueprint for this educational program was initially drawn up earlier this year during a private family ceremony at the couple’s farmhouse. Rather than allowing the vow to fade after their high-profile wedding in Udaipur, the duo made it a priority to return directly to these rural roots to deliver on their promise.
Addressing an emotional gathering of villagers, students, and teachers in fluent Telugu, Vijay reflected on how his own formative years at a residential school in Puttaparthi shaped his perspective on life:”Giving you this scholarship is a small gesture, but it is incredibly important to us. I want to be a meaningful part of your educational journey. Whatever I have achieved today is largely due to the positive, disciplined environment of my schooling and the values my parents taught me. The lifelong bond they maintained with this village is exactly what inspired us to take up this cause.”
Anatomy of the Virosh Scholarship Initiative
The educational framework designed by the foundation is deliberate, structured, and engineered to prevent rural high school dropouts that frequently occur when families face sudden economic constraints. Under this initiative, the foundation carefully selects the first and second rank holders transitioning through critical secondary school years in Classes 9 and 10. For this inaugural phase, 180 students have been meticulously chosen from 44 government schools scattered across the Achampet division. The foundation absorbs the entirety of these students’ educational expenses, establishing a secure financial model that ensures family income does not disrupt academic momentum.
Local dignitaries, including Achampet MLA Vamsi Krishna and District Educational Officer Ramesh, attended the launch. Krishna lauded the actor’s humility, noting that despite scaling immense heights in Indian cinema, Vijay’s prioritisation of government school children reflects a deeply grounded character. Nagarkurnool district’s recent academic upsurge securing the second-highest position in state board performance metrics served as the perfect backdrop for rewarding this rural brilliance.
A Shared Vision for Telangana’s Future
Rashmika Mandanna, who signed off her public address under her married name, Rashmika Mandanna Deverakonda, highlighted the conscious choice behind selecting the venue. She emphasised that the couple felt strongly that their first major educational footprint had to begin where Vijay’s family history started. Sharing a vital message regarding resilience with the young rank holders, she noted:”In life, sometimes we win, sometimes we fail, but every single time we learn. Learn from your parents and your teachers, and grow into wonderful individuals.”
The couple clarified that the Achampet division is merely the testing ground for a much larger blueprint. The immediate next phase involves expanding the scholarship umbrella to every government school across the entire Nagarkurnool district, with the ultimate lifelong goal of scaling the foundation’s reach to support underprivileged, high-performing students across the whole state of Telangana. To safeguard the project’s integrity, Vijay closed the launch with a direct plea to local educational officers and faculty members, urging them to strictly audit the selection parameters so that the aid reaches strictly deserving, economically strained families.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe that real stardom is not measured by box-office collections, but by the tangible, positive social change a celebrity chooses to champion off-screen. Education remains the most powerful equalizer in our society, yet thousands of brilliant minds in rural India are forced to drop out early due to systemic financial hardships.
By moving past purely ceremonial charity and designing a targeted, structural scholarship program for government school students, Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna have set a heartening example of empathy, responsibility, and civic kindness. Their decision to return to their ancestral roots to empower the next generation underscores the profound impact public figures can have when they choose to use their privilege for sustainable community development and social harmony.
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