Parliament Question: Implementation of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in Bihar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3894 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 Implementation of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in Bihar †3894. Shri Ramprit Mandal: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) has been implemented across the country, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has carried out any review after the implementation of the said scheme in Bihar, if so, the details thereof; (c) the names of the institutions in Bihar for which funds have been sanctioned under the said scheme; and (d) the details of the amount sanctioned and released so far, institution-wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Education launched in September 2014. It connects Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), also called Participating Institutions (PIs), in the country with the villages and local communities to identify challenges faced by the rural communities. UBA aims to bring students closer to the village communities and other government organizations with the ultimate goal of sensitizing students about the socio-economic conditions of villages. It has created a wide network of stakeholders, viz., HEIs, government organizations, youth, NGOs, etc., to work across villages. The scheme focuses on sensitizing students of HEIs to the problems faced by villages and encourages them to work with villages to develop feasible solutions to these problems. Under UBA, a network of over 4,806 PIs has been enrolled, covering more than 22,000 villages across 35 States/UTs. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi serves as the NationalCoordinating Institute (NCI) for the programme. For effective implementation, 50 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) have been designated across the country and 15 Subject Expert Groups (SEGs), coordinated by institutions of national importance, have been constituted to provide domain-specific technological solutions. (b) The Government has assessed the progress and effectiveness of UBA through periodic national-level evaluations by independent agencies. The scheme was first evaluated by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the year 2020-21. This has been again evaluated by the Indian Institute of Public Administration in 2025-26. These evaluations covered all States, including Bihar, and have concluded that UBA is a highly relevant and effective programme, uniquely combining academic objectives with grassroots rural development. As per the review, 62 HEIs in Bihar are enrolled as PIs under UBA and are working with 310 villages with active involvement of students and faculty. These institutions are mentored by the Regional Coordinating Institute, namely National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna. The evaluation has positively assessed the scheme as an effective initiative for engaging higher educational institutions in sustainable rural development. (c) and (d) In the State of Bihar, 62 Higher Educational Institutions are enrolled as PIs under UBA along with one Regional Coordinating Institute, namely National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna. As per the scheme, a one-time grant of ₹50,000 has been sanctioned and released to each of the 62 PIs in the State of Bihar for carrying out village study and related activities. The detailed list of PIs in Bihar is available on the UBA portal at: https://unnatbharatabhiyan.gov.in/list-participating- institutes?csrf_uba=081fee5b4002253116b78f7b938ce84a&aishe_code=&institute_id=&state _id=5&district_id=&submitSearch= NIT Patna, as the RCI, acts as the nodal centre for the PIs in the State of Bihar and facilitates, guides and monitors their activities under the scheme. An amount of ₹19,80,000 has been sanctioned and released to National Institute of Technology (NIT) Patna in its capacity as the Regional Coordinating Institute for coordination and monitoring of activities under the scheme in the State. In addition, an amount of ₹5,00,000 has been approved for technology proposals submitted by PIs in Bihar. ****