In the Interim Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday, the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) allocation saw a cut of little over 50 per cent with just Rs 2,500 crore allocation for the financial year 2024-25 from Rs 5,360 crore in 2023-24 budget estimate. This comes at a time when the government plans to bring in a new regulator — the Higher Education Commission of India. With UGC allocation halved, central universities grants saw an increase of over Rs 4,000 crore with Rs 15,928 crore allocated for FY 2024-25. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar did not comment on the allocation cut. In a statement, he said the commission is “pleased” to see an increase in the allocation to central and deemed universities along with other schemes. The Education Ministry’s overall budget allocation this year increased by 6.8 per cent from Rs 1,20,627.87 crore as opposed to Rs 1,12,899.47 crore in 2023-24. Under the ‘World Class Institutions’ for Institutions of Eminence (IoE), allocation has increased to Rs 1,800 crore from Rs 1,500 crore in 2023-24. For research and innovation, allocation has been hiked to Rs 355 crore from Rs 210.61 crore. For Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan allocation increased marginally by Rs 46.5 crore, from Rs 37,453.47 crore to Rs 37,500 crore in 2024-25. The PM POSHAN scheme saw an increase of over Rs 800 crore in allocation from Rs 11,600 in 2023-24 to Rs 12,467.39 crore in 2024-25. In her speech, Sitharaman emphasised on the Modi government’s aim to empower the country’s youth and allocated Rs 6,050 crore in 2024-25 up from Rs 4,000 crore in 2023-24 for PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI).
