Parliament Question: Infrastructure and academic standards in IITs and IIMs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4178 ANSWERED ON 01/04/2026 Infrastructure and academic standards in IITs and IIMs 4178 Dr. Ajeet Madhavrao Gopchade: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the current institution-wise status of sanctioned and in-position teaching faculty, academic and non-academic staff and the availability and adequacy of core academic, research, residential and administrative infrastructure in each Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM); and (b) whether Government has launched or proposes to launch targeted interventions to bridge faculty shortages, augment infrastructure and enhance academic and research standards, particularly in the newer IITs and IIMs, so as to ensure functional, academic and reputational parity with the older, well-established institutions and if so, the details, timelines and outcomes thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) and (b): IITs and IIMs are statutory autonomous organizations established under respective Central Acts of Parliament and governed by provisions of the Acts and Statutes made thereunder. In the Budget speech 2025-26, it has been announced to create additional infrastructure in the five IITs, which were started after 2014 to facilitate education for additional 6,500 students. Accordingly, Union Cabinet in its meeting held in May, 2025 has approved expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity including creation of Research Park of five new IITs which had been established in the State/UT of Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu) and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad) with a total outlay of Rs. 11,828.79 crore. Besides the above, the government has recently approved a total of Rs. 1,942 Crore for expansion of academic & hostel infrastructure, and development of Research Park for IITJodhpur, IIT Patna and IIT Indore through Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). These Research Parks aim to promote collaboration with top-rated industries, support entrepreneurship and student incubation, strengthen academic–industry linkages, enhance outreach of academic content to industry, and enable industries to contribute to academic programmes through close partnerships. Further, research parks have been set up in eight IITs and IISc Bengaluru to establish research ecosystem around these institutions. Government has also approved setting up of research parks in other five IITs through Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA). The Government has also launched the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme on November 3, 2025, a ₹1-lakh-crore initiative, representing a significant move to strengthen India’s research and development landscape. All 21 IIMs including 3rd generation IIMs (i.e. those established after 2015-16) are now functional from their permanent campus i.e. they are self-sufficient in terms of core infrastructure. As per the provisions of the IIM Act, 2017 (as amended from time to time), the Board of Governors of each IIM is the principal executive body of the institute. Proposals for campus development are put forward to the Board of Governors by the Campus Development Committee/Building and Works Committee. Once approved, the institute, through loan secured from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) executes the work. To attract the best minds to pursue high - quality research in India's premier academic institutions, the Government launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme in 2018-19 with total financial outlay of ₹ 1650 Crores. The scheme was launched to attract the best and brightest minds to pursue high – quality research in India’s premier academic institutions with enhanced financial support which includes fellowship and research grant. Under PMRF, 3688 scholars have been admitted. The first phase of PMRF has led to better outcomes of research and thus, 10,000 fellowships have been announced under PMRF in Budget 2025-26 for technological research with enhanced financial support. To strengthen research and innovation in higher education including in IITs and IIMs, the Government of India has launched the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), a new Central Sector scheme from 1st January 2025. All the IITs and IIMs have been instructed to undertake special drive to fill vacant faculty positions under mission mode recruitment. As part of this initiative, during the period from September 2022 to January 2026, IITs have recruited 3,285 faculty members, while IIMs have recruited 537 faculty members. *****