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A parliamentary committee has said that the existent allocation for higher acquisition is “underwhelmed”, and recommended that spending connected acquisition beryllium accrued to 6% of GDP arsenic envisaged nether the National Education Policy-2020.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee connected Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, connected Tuesday (June 16, 2026) presented its 381st enactment taken study connected the recommendations contained successful the 364th study connected Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the section of higher acquisition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan.
The Committee noted that the percent summation successful the Department of Higher Education's fund estimates (BE) for 2025-26 vis-a-vis the BE for 2024-25 was little than the erstwhile year.
“The Committee feels that successful presumption of the inflationary trends successful the country, the allocation should summation astatine slightest 8% to 10% to accommodate inflation, to support the existing standards for expenditure by the Department of Higher Education, and to debar diminution successful existent allocation/expenditure for the higher acquisition sector.
“The existent allocations are, therefore, underwhelmed – particularly successful the discourse of the request for capable resources to instrumentality the National Education Policy (NCP),” the study said.
Gross enrolment ratio
The committee besides noted that the gross enrolment ratio of males and females during 2018-2023 “has not registered immoderate important maturation for the intent of employment and optimal improvement of quality resources”.
“The Committee, therefore, recommends that the percent of expenditure should beryllium enhanced further successful consonance with the NEP-2020's targets for the twelvemonth 2035,” it said.
Taking enactment of NEP-2020, which “unequivocally endorses and envisions a important summation successful nationalist concern successful acquisition by some the Centre and each the State governments to scope 6% of GDP”, the sheet expressed interest that full expenditure connected acquisition stood astatine 4.12% of GDP successful 2021-22.
“The Committee is constrained to enactment that the full expenditure connected acquisition (including each Central Ministries and each states/UTs) arsenic percent of GDP stands astatine 4.12% for 2021-22, which is acold little than the recommendations of NEP-2020,” it said.
The Committee besides noted that “SAARC countries specified arsenic Bhutan and Maldives spent 7.47% and 4.67% of their GDP, respectively, successful 2022, arsenic against 4.12% spending connected acquisition by India”.
Demand for accrued spending
“The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Education marque sincere efforts to summation the spending connected acquisition to 6% of the GDP, arsenic endorsed and recommended by the NEP-2020,” the study said.
“The Ministry of Education should sincerely question further funds from the Ministry of Finance to marque spending connected acquisition astatine 6% of GDP feasible, thereby strengthening and augmenting the nationalist acquisition strategy from schoolhouse acquisition to higher acquisition genuinely satellite people and accessible to each sections of society,” it added.
The government, successful its enactment taken reply, said the allocation of funds successful the section is based connected the requirements of the respective bureaus wrong the wide fund ceiling allotted by the Ministry of Finance and that the BE for 2025-26 were ₹50,077.95 crore, which were enhanced to ₹51,381.67 crore astatine the revised estimates stage.
“It is stated that the existent expenditure astatine the extremity of FY 2024-25 was ₹44,055.44 crore. Funds amounting to ₹33,938.88 crore were certified till 31.12.2024. However, existent expenditure arsenic connected 31.12.2024 was ₹33569.05 crore.
“Further, the existent expenditure incurred during the 4th fourth was ₹10,486.39 crore, which was wrong the ceiling of 33% successful the past 4th and 15% successful the past period (March) arsenic instructed by the Ministry of Finance,” it said.
It added that the committee's proposal to debar a unreserved of expenditure had been “respectfully noted”.
