Lok Sabha Question No. 95 (STARRED), answered on 2024-07-29
Subject: Promotion of Higher Education
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Manish Jaiswal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 95 ANSWERED ON 29.07.2024

## Promotion of Higher Education

*95 SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  initiatives  to  promote  higher  education  in remote areas of Jharkhand; (b) the  details  of  the  programmes/schemes  launched  by  the  Government  to  promote higher education in the last five years; (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  expand  existing  schemes  or  introduce new ones for further enhancement of higher education infrastructure in remote regions of Jharkhand; (d) if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether there are specific scholarships or financial aid available to support students from economically weaker sections in accessing higher education and if so, the details

- thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO  (E)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  95  ANSWERED  ON  29.07.2024  ASKED  BY  SHRI MANISH JAISWAL, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING PROMOTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(a) to (d): Education being in the Concurrent List, enhancing the quality of education is the responsibility of both the Central and State Governments. However, recognizing the need for central assistance, the Central Government has implemented various schemes for supporting State Governments. Various schemes/ projects/ programmes run by the Ministry have been aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. NEP 2020 aims  to  ensure  that  no  child  loses  opportunity  to  learn  and  excel  because  of  the circumstances  of  birth  or  background.  It  has  taken  into  account  the  concerns  of  the Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) which inter-alia includes geographical  identities  such  as  students  from  villages,  small  towns,  and  aspirational districts and other categories. This policy aims at bridging the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes.

The  Ministry  has  launched  the  third  phase  of  Rashtriya  Uchchatar  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RUSA) as Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) in June 2023 with an outlay of Rs. 12926.10 crore for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26 to cater to needs of educationally unserved/ underserved areas. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at  funding  specific  State  government  universities  and  colleges,  including  in  the  rural areas, so as to improve their quality by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards. Under PM-USHA, priority is given to Focus Districts. The focus districts are  identified  by  the  concerned  States/  UTs  based  on  various  criteria  including  low Gross Enrolment Ratio, Gender Parity, population proportion and enrolment proportion for females, transgenders, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, Aspirational/ Border Area/ Left Wing Extremism prone district, etc. Under the scheme, 104 units have been approved in Jharkhand for a total amount of Rs. 775.46 Crore under various components of RUSA and PM-USHA. An amount of Rs. 108.17 Crore has been released to Jharkhand in the last five years (from 2019-20 to 2023-24).

In addition, the details of the other various higher education projects under the Ministry in the State of Jharkhand and funds released during the last five years (from 2019-20 to 2023-24) is as given below.

|   S. No. | Name of the Projects in Jharkhand                                | Funds Released (Rs. Crore)   |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|
|        1 | Central University of Jharkhand                                  | 388.94                       |
|        2 | Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad | 1,584.31                     |

|   S. No. | Name of the Projects in Jharkhand                                       |   Funds Released (Rs. Crore) |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|
|        3 | Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi                            |                       167.68 |
|        4 | Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Ranchi                |                        66.82 |
|        5 | National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur                            |                       534.57 |
|        6 | National Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (NIAMT), Ranchi |                       191.08 |

(e): In order to provide scholarship/ financial aid to support students from economically weaker  sections  in  accessing  higher  education,  the  Ministry  is  implementing  Central Sector  Schemes  under  the  umbrella  scheme  Pradhan  Mantri  Uchchatar  Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojana namely (i) PM-USP Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students (CSSS), (ii) PM-USP Special Scholarship Scheme for  Jammu  &  Kashmir  &  Ladakh  and  (iii)  PM-USP  Central  Sector  Interest  Subsidy Scheme (CSIS). Besides these schemes, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is implementing Ishan Uday Special Scholarship Scheme for North Eastern Region  and National Scholarship for PG Studies to provide scholarship/financial support to students from economically weaker sections, in accessing higher education. Similarly, All India Council  for  Technical  Education  (AICTE)  is  providing  scholarship  or  financial  aid through  its  Post  Graduate  Scholarship  Scheme,  PRAGATI  Scholarship  Scheme, SAKHSAM  Scholarship  Scheme  and  SWANATH  Scholarship  Scheme  to  support students from economically weaker sections in accessing higher education.

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