KANPUR: The deduction in budget allocation to IIT-K last year has started showing its impact now. The IIT-K, which needs a budget of Rs 261 crore annually, was allocated Rs 175 crore. The amount was released by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) in parts. Since the allocated amount has proved not to be enough to run the institute and for paying salaries to the staff, the IITK administration has urged the Ministry of HRD to release some additional funds. The IITK authorities are expecting to receive additional funds by the end of March. Till then the institute administration has used its internal funds to meet the crisis and is anxiously waiting for the funds to flow in. The fund crisis has impacted so much that the expansion within the IIT such as construction of the new buildings (hostels) has either slowed down or closed for the moment. The entire trouble began last year when for the academic year 2015-16, 175 crores were allocated to IITKanpur, about Rs 75 crores less than the previous financial year.

The reliable sources informed TOI that the staff and the faculty has received their salaries and allowances of March month and the problem would get solved when the fresh sum of grant would come by the end of the ongoing month. The sources said that if the crisis of funds will prevail in the coming time it will completely impact the research work in the IIT-K. The board of governors of IITK which met on Saturday on the institute campus also discussed the fund crisis issue and its impact on the institute. This is for the first time that fund crisis problem has occured before the IIT-Kanpur.

Chairman of Board of Governors of IITKanpur, RC Bhargava accepted that the fund crisis has affected the pace of work that were going on in the institute campus. He said that budget has been phenomenoally slashed by the Ministry (HRD). "For higher education and institutes such as IITs, higher sum of money should be allocated instead of slashing them down. The IITs will have to think and plan how to increase its internal finance sources. IITs will do a long term planning to solve the problem. Hopefully government and IITs will together work out the crisis. It has to be seen that our revenue increases and expenditures are curtailed", said Bhargava while talking to the newspersons.

Talking to TOI, director IIT-K, Prof Indranil Manna acknowledged that the deduction in the budget for IITK has started showing its impact, but refused to comment how the financial crisis was being addressed. He said that some additional funds would be made available by the ministry of HRD by the end of March. "We have already communicated the fund crisis issue to the ministry and it has assured of financial help", said Prof Manna. He refrained from commenting further regarding how amount would be granted to IITKanpur to meet the challenge.

"Everyone has got the salary and they will continue to get their salaries in future also", said IIT-K director. He also said that the government wants the IITs be self-reliant in terms of generating own sources of income and therefore, the budget was cut last year and we are moving ahead in direction of being self reliant.

TOI in June last year had published a an article titled 'IIT-K annual budget slashed drastically' whereby highlighting that the steep decline in the MHRD grant has shaken the institute as its administration has to manage the salaries and allowances of the staff and the faculty and also conduct research work. The fund crisis caused then is now impacting the premier IIT-Kanpur on a major scale.



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