Lok Sabha Question No. 4927 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Establishment of New Central Educational Institutions
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Devesh Shakya, Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha, Shri Neeraj Maurya

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4927 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026

## Establishment of New Central Educational Institutions

†4927. Shri Devesh Shakya:

Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha:

Shri Neeraj Maurya:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to establish new Central educational institutions or vocational/skill-based  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  the  youth  of  agriculture-dominated  areas such as Etah, Kasganj, Jaunpur, Badaun and Bareilly districts and Aonla in Uttar Pradesh, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the amount of funds sanctioned and utilised for the development of laboratories and digital infrastructure in Government colleges in the districts of Etah, Kasganj, Jaunpur, Badaun and Bareilly under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) during the last three years;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to provide financial assistance or special grants for introducing special courses in local colleges in Jaunpur, Etah, Kasganj and Aonla region to promote agri-entrepreneurship, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government has established any special monitoring mechanism or support system to address the difficulties faced by rural students while availing educational loans, especially in the district of Etah, Kasganj and Jaunpur, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (Dr. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a) to (c): In the State of Uttar Pradesh, there are 15 centrally funded institutions including Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi (BHU), Indian Institute of Management  (IIM)  Lucknow,  Motilal  Nehru  National  Institute  of  Technology  (MNNIT) Prayagraj, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Allahabad, etc.

The  government  has  launched  the  third  phase  of  Rashtriya  Uchchatar  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RUSA) in June 2023 in the form of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA), with an outlay of Rs. 12,926.10 crore, including the committed liabilities of the earlier phases of RUSA, to cater to the needs of educationally unserved/ underserved areas. PM-USHA is a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  aimed  at  funding  specific  State  government  universities  and colleges, so as to improve their quality by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards.

In the State of Uttar Pradesh, under various components of the scheme, a total of 204 units, for  an  amount of Rs. 1942.27 Cr (Out of this, central share of Rs. 1173.06 Cr) have been approved including 17 projects amounting to Rs. 217.64 Cr under components New Model Degree Colleges, Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU), Grants to Strengthen Universities (GSU) and Grants to Strengthen Colleges (GSC) in the district of Etah, Kasganj,  Jaunpur,  Badaun  and  Bareilly.  Furthermore,  under  various  components  of  the scheme, States/ UTs may undertake several activities such as (i) setting up start-up incubation centres and technology development centres for skill-based courses with the help of Industries/ Micro,  Small  &  Medium  Enterprises  (MSME);  (ii)  MoUs  signed  with  industry  for  internship/ research/ entrepreneurship/ employment; (iii) placement/ training and certification programmes,  structural  reforms  according  to  the  increased  industry-ready  courses  and industry-academia linkages; (iv) internship/ apprenticeship embedded degree programme; (v) vocational courses for 21st-century skills, internships/ training regarding vocational education; (vi)  focus  on  skilling  and  vocationalization  training/  workshops/  placement  for  females, transgenders:  (vii)  establishing  equivalence  and  mobility  to  the  students  through  National Credit  Framework  (NCrF);  (viii)  National  Higher  Education  Qualification  Framework;  (ix) Academic Bank of Credit (ABC), multiple entry/exit; (x) offering of courses and books / course materials in Indian Languages etc.

(d):  To  address  the  difficulties  faced  by  rural  students  while  availing  educational  loans,  a dedicated  online  platform,  the  PM  Vidyalaxmi  portal  https://pmvidyalaxmi.co.in  has  been developed on which students, including students from rural area can apply for the education loan as well as interest subvention, through a simplified application process to be used by all banks. This portal has started operating from 25th February 2025. Loans are made accessible through a simple, transparent, student-friendly and entirely digital application process, with a simple 2-page application format from a longer 7-8 page format used earlier. A 24X7 toll-free helpline 1800 1031 for PMVL portal applications is operational to help the students, HEIs and Banks in different stages of application process. More than 25,000 education loans have been sanctioned to students of Uttar Pradesh through the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal in the year 2025-26 (till Feb 2026).

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