Lok Sabha Question No. 124 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Expansion and Incentivization of Higher Education Institutes
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 124 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Expansion and Incentivization of Higher Education Institutes

## †*124.

## Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya: Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the increase in the number of higher education institutions, such as universities, IITs, IIMs  and  AIIMS  and  the  expansion  of  academic  capacity/additional  seats generated  through  the said increase  by 2025,  State-wise,  particularly  in  Jharkhand,  Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh;

(b)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  set  up  or  expand  the  presence  of  Indian  higher education abroad, such as setting up of IIT/IIM campuses  overseas and to attract foreign institutions and international students to India;

(c) the details of the scholarship  schemes and financial aid schemes  implemented  by  the Government  on  access  and  affordability  to  reduce  the  financial  constraints  for  students  seeking higher  education,  particularly  in  Jharkhand  and  Andhra  Pradesh  along  with  the  impact  of  such programmes/schemes thereof;

- (d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  formulate  any  special  scheme  to  provide  benefits  of the said initiatives effectively to the students of Ramgarh and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand;
- (e) the number of beneficiaries, amount allocated and coverage of the schemes for the students  belonging  to  the  SC/ST/OBC/Minority/EWS  category  of  Jharkhand  during  the  last  three years under the Central Scholarship Schemes (like Post-Matric, Merit-cum-Means, Central Sector Scholarship schemes etc.);

(f)  whether  the  Government  is  providing  financial  aid  for  higher  education  institutes  in  tribal dominated  districts  like  Palghar  in  Maharashtra  to  promote  the  tribal  students  for  the  higher education; and

(g)  the  outcome  of  the  international  collaborations,  student/faculty  exchange  programmes  and improved global rankings as indicators of India's rise in educational excellence?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (g):  A statement is laid on the table of the House.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (G) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION  NO.  124  FOR  REPLY  ON  09.02.2026  ASKED  BY  SMT.  SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH  BARAIYA  AND  DR.  SANJAY  JAISWAL,  HON'BLE  MEMBERS  OF PARLIAMENT  REGARDING  EXPANSION  AND  INCENTIVIZATION  OF  HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTES

(a):    According to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)'s portal, number of University / University Level Institutions, Colleges and Stand-alone Institutions in the Country rose to 1395, 53197 and 16577 respectively. State-wise data about Higher Education Institutions reported on AISHE portal is available at https://dashboard.aishe.gov.in/hedirectory/#/hedirectory .

Enrolment in higher education has risen from 3.42 crore in 2014-15 to 4.46 crore in 2022-23, with female enrolment rose from 1.57 crore to 2.18 crore. The enrolment of SC students has risen from 46.07 Lakh in 2014-15 to 69.13 Lakh in 2022-23. The enrolment of ST students has increased to 28.72 Lakh in 2022-23 from 16.41 Lakh in 2014-15.  Total STEM enrolment stands at 99.76 lakh.

Since 2014, 16 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT), 8 Central Universities (CU), 8 Indian Institute of Management (IIM), 7 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 2 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), 1 National Institute of Technology (NIT) and 12 new AIIMS have been established.

Further, in pursuance of the Budget announcement 2025-26, Government has approved expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity including creation of Research Park of five new IITs which had been established in the State/UT of Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu) and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad) with a total outlay of Rs. 11,828.79 crore, which would facilitate education for additional 6500 students. Besides the above the Government has approved a total of Rs. 1942 crore for expansion of academic & hostel infrastructure, and development of Research Park for IIT Jodhpur, IIT Patna, IIT Indore through Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).

(b):  Government has facilitated Indian HEIs to set up campuses abroad which includes IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania; IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi; and IIM Ahmedabad campus in Dubai.

To attract foreign institutions, Government has enabled the setting up of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions  (FHEIs)  in  India  under  University  Grants  Commission  (Setting  up  and  Operation  of Campuses  of  Foreign  Higher  Educational  Institutions  in  India)  Regulations  2023.  University  of Southampton (UK), Gurugram Campus has commenced its academic operations for the session 202526 after grant of Letter of Intent (LoI) as well as Letter of Approval (LoA). 13 Letters of Intent have been issued to FHEIs from Australia, Italy, United Kingdom and USA to set up their campuses at various  places  in  India  including  Bengaluru  (Karnataka),  Delhi  NCR,  Mumbai  (Maharashtra)  and Chennai (Tamil Nadu).

Under International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Regulations 2022, approvals have been accorded to 5 universities from UK, Australia and Northern Ireland for operating offshore branch campuses in GIFT City SEZ, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Among these 5 universities, Deakin University, Australia and University of Wollongong, Australia commenced its courses.

To attract international students to India, the Ministry of Education launched the 'Study in India' scheme in 2018 with the aim of promoting India as a global study destination providing world-class education at  affordable costs. An integral part of the programme is the Study in India (SII) portal, a one-stop destination for admission and visa applications for all incoming foreign students and acts as a gateway to the Indian higher education ecosystem.

To create  a  favourable  environment  for  attracting  international  students  to  Indian  higher  education system, 'Guidelines for Admission and Supernumerary seats of International Students in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Program in HEIs in India' was issued by UGC in September 2022.

UGC has also issued 'UGC (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2021', which allows students to do parts of their programmes from both Indian and foreign universities leading to academic and research excellence, as well as mobility of students and faculty.

(c) to (f): Education is in the concurrent list. Both the Central Government and the State Governments work for the development of education. The Pre-Matric and Post-Matric scholarship schemes for SC, ST, OBC and minority are Centrally Sponsored Schemes being implemented by States and UTs and administered by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs. Under these scholarship schemes, the benefits are extended to all the students, including students belonging to SC, ST and OBC, subject to their parental income ceiling and as per scheme guidelines.

Department of Higher Education (DHE) implements the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) Yojana under which students pursuing higher education in India, including SC, ST, OBC and minority students get scholarships as per Scheme guidelines.

In addition, the Government of India has launched the PM-Vidyalaxmi, a new central sector scheme in November 2024. The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that no student is denied the opportunity to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. Under the scheme, collateral-free and guarantorfree education loan is provided to all the students who get merit-based admission in top Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) and who desire to avail the education loan and there is no upper limit for this. Further, for students with annual family income up to ₹ 8 lakh, the scheme provides 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs. Up to one lakh fresh students not getting any other scholarship or interest subvention on education loan will get this interest subvention. During 25th February 2025 and 28th  January  2026,  more  than  57,000 PM  -Vidyalaxmi  education  loans  have  been  sanctioned.  The Amount sanctioned is ₹7395 crores.

In 2024-25, about 95 lakh students were granted scholarships for Post-Matric and Higher Education. This includes about 27 lakh scholarships for Other Backward Classes (OBC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and Denotified Tribes (DNT) students; about 48 lakh scholarships for Scheduled Castes (SC) students; and about 17 lakh scholarships for Scheduled Tribes (ST) students.

In state of Jharkhand, under PM-USP Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students (PM-USP CSSS) (Fresh + Renewals) and PM-USP Central Sector Interest Subsidy (PM-USP CSIS), scholarship and financial support of Rs. 8.89 crore disbursed for 4076 OBC students, Rs. 4.73 crore disbursed for 713 SC students and Rs. 1.05 crore disbursed for 729 ST students during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

Under  National  Means-cum-Merit  Scholarship  Scheme  (NMMSS)  administered  by  Department  of School Education & Literacy, Rs. 9.63 crore has been sanctioned to reward 8027 scholarships (Fresh + Renewal) (including 850 for SC students and 1437 for ST students) during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25 in state of Jharkhand.

Under  Centrally  Sponsored  Post-Matric  Scholarship  Scheme  for  SC  Students  administered  by Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, the Centre has released Rs. 94.61 crore benefitting 1,36,316 SC students during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25 in Jharkhand.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs is administering two Centrally Sponsored Schemes- Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class IX and X) and Post Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class XI and above)

which are being implemented through the States/UTs. In Jharkhand, the Centre released Rs. 57 crore under Pre-Matric Scholarship benefitting 3,72,930 ST Students during last three years i.e., from 202223 to 2024-25 and Rs. 253.11 crore was released under Post Matric Scholarship benefitting 3,61,413 ST Students during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

Ministry of Tribal Affairs is also implementing two Central Sector Schemes- National Fellowship for Higher Education for ST students and National Scholarship for Higher Education for ST students (Top Class). Rs. 10.33 crore has been released under National Fellowship for Higher Education benefitting 214 ST Students from Jharkhand during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25 and Rs. 8.51 crore has been released under National Scholarship for Higher Education benefitting 348 ST Students from  Jharkhand  during  last  three  years  i.e.,  from  2022-23  to  2024-25.  Further,  National  Overseas Scholarship for ST students is implemented through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the funds are released to ST students studying abroad through Embassies. Ministry of Tribal Affairs further reimburse the funds to MEA. Under this scheme, Rs. 1.31 crore has been released for 10 ST students studying abroad during last three years i.e., from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

As per AISHE 2022-23, Palghar district in Maharashtra has 85 Higher Education Institutions. Total enrolment stands  at  63,725  students.  Category-wise  enrolment  shows  3,644  SC  students,  8,670  ST students, and 13,795 OBC students.

In  alignment with NEP 2020, 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 (PMUSHA) 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. 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 PM-USHA, 61 units have been approved in the State of Maharashtra, with total approved amount of Rs. 814.24 Crore under various components. Further, in the district of Palghar which is also a focus district under PM-USHA, 1 unit i.e. 'Sonopant Dandekar Arts College S Apte Commerce and M H Mehta Science College (C-34065)' have been approved support under Grants to Strengthen Colleges component with approved amount of Rs 5 crore.

(g): The Government is implementing several initiatives like Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), Study in India etc. to  facilitate  the  enrollment  of  foreign  students,  faculty  exchange  program,  to  improve  the  research ecosystem of India's Higher Education Institutions, and to further improve India's global ranking. NEP guided initiatives by Government of India have led to significant improvements in the performance of Indian HEIs in international rankings, including the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR). 54 Indian Institutions have been ranked in the QS WUR 2026. The number of Indian HEIs featuring in the QS World University Rankings has doubled in the past five years, rising from 27 in QS WUR 2021 to 54  in  QS  WUR  2026,  thus  underscoring  sustained  policy  initiatives,  strengthened  research  and innovation capacity, and the steadily rising global profile of India's higher education system. In QS World University Rankings, Asia 2026 India has second most representation, with 294 universities, up from 163 in 2025 and 7 institutions in the top 100. The QS Subject Rankings for 2025 included 79 Indian HEIs, an increase of 10 from the previous year's 69. India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) has also propelled from 48 in 2020 and currently being ranked at 38 th place in 2025.