The Indian government has increased the budget for higher education for the financial year 2025-26, giving ₹50,077.95 crore to the Education Ministry’s Department of Higher Education. This is more than the ₹47,619.77 crore allocated for 2024-25.
In this new budget, ₹2,160 crore is set aside to help students financially, and ₹681 crore is planned for digital e-learning. Research and innovation will receive ₹327 crore. The budget for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) amounts to ₹11,349 crore. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) will get ₹522.20 crore, a slight increase from last year’s ₹515.91 crore.
However, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has a smaller budget of ₹900 crore, down from ₹918.27 crore last year. The University Grants Commission (UGC) will see its funding rise to ₹3,335.97 crore from ₹2,500 crore. In contrast, the budget for the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has been cut to ₹200 crore from ₹400 crore this year.
Support for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has increased to ₹251.89 crore from ₹212.21 crore. Funding for the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) has risen to ₹5,473.87 crore from ₹4,839.40 crore in the previous financial year.
Central sector schemes, which include important projects like the Prime Minister’s Girls’ Hostel and efforts to promote Indian Knowledge Systems, will receive ₹528.36 crore for 2025-26.
Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, the Central University of Andhra Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Tribal Universities did not get any grant money.
Funding for other central programs, including teacher training, academic rankings, and AI centers, totals ₹5,175.88 crore.
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