UNION BUDGET 2022-23: Slight rise in allocation for IITs, NITs, IISERs

BUDGET 2022: Twenty-three Indian Institutes of Technology allocated INR 8,495 crore, which was INR 7,686 crore last year.

Union Budget 2022: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman presented the fourth Union Budget 2022 today (February 1) in the Parliament. In the Union Budget 2022, the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have been allocated INR 8,495 crore, which was INR 7,686 crore the previous fiscal year. 

However, the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), which are 31 in number, and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) Shibpur have been allocated INR 4,364 crore. A total of INR 3,935 crore was allocated to NITs and IIEST in the fiscal year 2021-22. 

While the government has allocated INR 542.52 crore to the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), which was INR 393.35 crore in 2021-22, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have been allocated INR 1379.53 crore and INR 727.25 crore, respectively. The two institutes were allocated INR 946 crore (IISERs) and INR 621.65 crore (IISc) during the previous fiscal year. Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) have been allocated INR 154.90 core, which is less than the previous year. In the 2021 Budget, SPAs were allocated a total of INR 175 crore. 

BUDGET 2022: Allocation for engineering institutes and their comparison 

Institute	2022-23 (in crore)	2021-22 (in crore)
IITs	INR 8,495	INR 7,686
NITs, IIEST	INR 4,364	INR 3,935
IIITs	INR 542.52	INR 393.35
IISERs	INR 1379.53	INR 946
IISc	INR 727.25	INR 621.65

Focus on skill development courses 

While presenting the Budget, Sitharaman laid focus on skill development courses. She announced that new skill development courses will be introduced in the state Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to enable the youth of the country. 

AICTE to take lead in improving urban planning courses 

The Finance Minister further announced that five Centres of Excellence will be set up with an endowment fund of INR 250 crore. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will take the lead in improving syllabi, quality and access of urban planning courses in other institutions. The government has also decided to allow the setting up of foreign universities in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city) to provide courses in financial management, fin-tech, mathematics among others. 

Budget 2022: Key highlights 

Below are the key highlights of the Union Budget 2022. 

• While the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will work on improving urban planning courses, five existing academic institutions on urban planning will be named centres of excellence. These institutions will receive endowment of INR 250 crore each. 
• High quality digital content will be introduced in all spoken languages in the country and world-class universities will be allowed to offer courses in financial management, financial technology, science, and technology, free of Indian regulations. 
• Select Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will have skill-based courses. 
• Academic institutes will be encouraged and supported for research and development within the ambit of Defence Budget. 
• Defence R&D will be opened up to industry, startups and academia with 25 per cent of defence R&D Budget. Private industry will be encouraged to take up design and development of military platforms and equipment.