Union Cabinet allots Rs 3,000 cr for 13 central varsities

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an expenditure of Rs 3,639.32 crore for 13 new central universities for recurring cost and creation of necessary infrastructure in order to finish work on their campuses. According to a government note, the work will be completed with 36 months.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said during Cabinet briefing that the move will increase access to higher education and set exemplary standards for other universities to emulate and will help in minimising regional imbalances in educational facilities

The new central universities were established under the Central Universities Act, 2009, in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

While Jammu and Kashmir have been allotted two universities, all other states have been given one university each. The Cabinet also gave an ex-post facto approval for an amount of Rs 1,474.65 crore that is being spent over and above the earlier Cabinet approval of Rs 3,000 crore for these central universities, the government note added.