Last Updated:
Experts say government’s announcement on expanding infrastructure in five new IITs and setting up of an AI centre of excellence in education is a ‘welcome step’. But ‘the funding needs to be sustained and the projects must be executed the way it should be’
According to experts, these are ‘welcome steps’, but at the same time ‘the funding needs to be sustained and the projects must be executed the way it should be’. (Representational Photo)
In a significant push to higher education, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced to expand infrastructure across five newer IITs (established after 2014) to accommodate 6,500 more students and setting up of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre of excellence in education while presenting the Budget for 2025-26.
News18 spoke to experts, including former and current IIT directors and faculty as well as those in the private sector to elaborate on what this will mean for the higher education sector. They said these are “welcome steps”, but at the same time “the funding needs to be sustained and the projects must be executed the way they should be”.
The move comes at a time when the total number of students at the 23 IITs has almost doubled over the past decade. The finance minister while presenting her eighth consecutive Budget said the total number of students in the 23 IITs has increased by 100 per cent from 65,000 to 1.35 lakh over the past 10 years.
“Additional infrastructure will be created in five IITs established after 2014 to accommodate 6,500 more students. The hostel and other infrastructure capacity at IIT-Patna will also be expanded,” she said in her Budget speech.
Known as third-generation IITs, they were set up at Palakkad, Tirupati, Jammu, Dharwad, Bhilai, and Goa after 2014. Some of these campuses are still in the process of constructing parts of their campuses.
‘BUDGET IN LINE WITH NEP’
Speaking to the media after the Budget, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the additional 6,500 seats in five IITs will be added over the next five years. “These seats will be added at the entry level, for undergraduate students,” he said.
He added: “The Budget is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP). It will help expand the IIT system as well as boost research and innovation. The schemes announced, some of which fall under the education ministry, will together reach out to approximately 50% of total students in India.”
There has been an increase of 9.92 per cent in the allocation of resources for IITs in the current budget at Rs 11,349 crore, as against Rs 10,324.50 crore in 2024-25. Senior ministry officials said seats will be expanded from next year since infrastructure will also have to be boosted.
A senior official said at IIT-Patna, only infrastructure will be boosted with more hostels and other facilities. “IIT-Goa has been excluded because they don’t have a campus yet,” the official added.
EXPERTS HAIL IIT EXPANSION MOVE
Prof V Ramagopal Rao, former IIT-Delhi director and current Group Vice-Chancellor (V-C), BITS Pilani campuses, said the IIT system has been in a need of expansion for long given the number of students qualifying the entry-level exam and the much larger intake by global universities.
At present, the total strength of BTech students across 23 IITs is even less than a lakh. This should at least double over the next few years. “The expansion is a step in the right direction, but it should not be just a one-time increase since the intake in IITs needs to be expanded. We have so far remained tiny given the large numbers of students. There has to be a roadmap for a sustained increase in capacity over the years to come with a scale-up model where the government has a set target of an annual increase with simultaneous boost in infrastructure,” said Rao.
He said every year the intake of BTech students across 23 IITs is just 17,000, which is fewer than what a single university in competitive countries admit in a year. Not just the newer IITs, older IITs too need to be expanded with extended campuses.
For example, IIT-Delhi has extended campuses in Jhajjar and Sonepat, but there has been no money to develop them as full-fledged campuses. Even IIT-Madras has an extended campus. “Much more funding is required for this, as extended campuses for older IITs need to be developed as full-fledged campuses where they can start with the first-years,” he said.
Prof M Jagadesh Kmuar, chairperson, University Grants Commission (UGC), said expanding the infrastructure of five IITs and creating 5,000 additional seats will increase access of quality higher education for all.
“The budget for digitising the storage system for the academic credits through the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) has also increased to Rs 16 crore,” he said.
IIT-Madras director Prof V Kamakoti also said expansion of the third-generation IITs is “crucial”. “This will benefit a good number of students. I am glad this step has been taken,” he said.
On the expansion of capacity in IITs, Husien Dohadwalla, Co-CEO, Crimson Schools, said this initiative is a significant step towards meeting the increasing demand for high-quality technical education in India.
“By enhancing facilities and capacity, we are not only creating more opportunities for aspiring engineers but also ensuring that our institutions remain globally competitive,” he said.
‘INDIA NEEDS TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME IN AI RACE’
The fourth AI centre of excellence in education is in addition to the three announced last year in the fields of agriculture, sustainable cities, and healthcare. Ministry officials said the fourth AI Centre to be developed with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore aims to “revolutionise” India’s educational system from “pre-primary to professional and research levels”.
“By harnessing artificial intelligence, it seeks to address disparities and inefficiencies, ensuring equitable and high-quality education across the nation. In line with the comprehensive implementation of the NEP 2020, this transformative initiative will integrate AI-driven innovations to enhance teaching, assessment, and policy-making,” the ministry said in a statement.
With more focus on AI, Rao said India needs much more investment in the sector since it has a lot to catch up with countries like China, the US, and some European countries. “The government’s focus is a welcome step, given the way it has executed and carried forward with the same commitment,” said Rao.
Prof Arnab Bhattacharya, who teaches computer science at IIT-Kanpur, shared Rao’s views on how India needs to make up for lost time in the AI race. “The world is already AI-driven. We have the talent and the potential; we just need an organised push towards it. This is a significant announcement,” he said.
Sitharaman also announced that over the next five years, under the PM Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme, the government will provide 10,000 fellowships for technological research in IITs and IISc with enhanced financial support.
“Today, there’s uncertainty in research. We expect five years of time to be spent to work on a research problem. There’s also peer pressure, as other graduates go on to work in the industry earning well while research students are still in research. This is indeed an important step for boosting research and for more students to invest their time in it,” Kamakoti said.
