Union Budget 2022: National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are in need of more funds in order to improve rankings, infrastructure, and to expand its campus. Modest budgets and delayed release of funds are delimiting their future expansion plans.
As per updates, National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are planning to expand its research infrastructure and improve its facilities for international students. The institutes aim to scale up their range of on-campus programs.
In order to expand the campus, the National Institutes of Technology required funds and more generous allocations. The funds were expected to be released by the Union Government, however, the delay in the release has been a big issue for NIT.
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Referring to the issue, the Director of NIT Srinagar, Rakesh Sehgal said, “There is always a huge gap between the required amount, the sanctioned amount and the actual amount released".
The exertion in finances is preventing the NITs from creating a top-quality research infrastructure on campus. The difficulties and lack of funds are further preventing the institute from increasing its rankings, he further added.
Adding to the statement, NIT Srinagar, Rakesh Sehgal said, “We need at least Rs 180 crore every year under different heads to run this institution. But hardly Rs 120 crore is sanctioned and that too is never released in time”.
“We need money for new infrastructure, equipment. We need around Rs 3 to 4 crore for journal subscriptions, libraries, etc. They said in April that they could release Rs 34 crore but did not do it. This month only they have released Rs 4 crore which makes no sense to us,” he added.
Referring to the facilities of NIT available for international students, the NIT Calicut officials stated that to attract international students, the NIT needs to have good quality facilities and rental accommodations on the campus ground, such as Studio Apartments.
In order to facilitate services, the NIT is in need of generous contribution, however, no positive result has been seen so far. "Unfortunately at SVNIT Surat we were not so successful in getting funds though we have a very wide network of alumni," he said.
While talking about the rankings, Prasad Krishna, Director, National Institutes of Technology Calicut stated that in order to improve the rankings, the institute will have to focus on offering not only just engineering courses but also includes other domains courses as well.
He added that the NITs will have to include various departments on its campus ground. But with the issue of low funds, the required expansion and infrastructure upgrade is being delayed further.
Earlier, in 2017, the NIT Karnataka took a loan from the Higher Education Finance Agency or HEFA to finance its expansion of infrastructure and facilities on the campus ground.
With the financial assistance offered to NIT by the Central Government, the institute decided to work and fully establish its campus. The institute has constructed more than 60 high-end best-quality equipment for students.
Referring to the same, NIT Karnataka Surathkal Director, Rao said, “The consequence of this is the faculty members get an opportunity to work on good equipment, research scholars will be giving their time and then we get a good result which increases publications and improves the quality of publications thus resulting in patents".
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