Not so long ago the Union HRD Ministry led by Smriti Irani had approved hiking of annual fees for IIT.

The decision had caused nationwide uproar among the student fraternity.

Now Irani’s ministry has almost doubled the fees in National Institutes of Technology (NITs).

Going by a PTI report, the HRD ministry has already approved the proposal to hike the NIT from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh per annum.



The HRD ministry reportedly approved this proposal of the NIT Council and the increased fees will be effective from new admissions. The fee hike will not affect those who have already taken admissions, a senior official told PTI.

In a separate decision, the ministry also decided to hike the fees for the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) from Rs 15,000 per semester to Rs 25,000 per semester from “prospective effect”.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday.

“A decision has been taken to raise the fees at NITs for undergraduate as well as post graduate courses for which Rs 70,000 was charged. Now the students who join NITs will have to pay Rs 1.25 per year for these courses,” the official said.

“The fee hike would only for new students who get admission and not for those who are already studying,” the official said.

Earlier, this year, the HRD ministry had hiked the fees for IITs from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2 lakh per annum.

However, on the lines of the decision taken with regard to IITs, the ministry has decided to give a total fee waiver for the differently-abled, students from SC and ST community and those belonging to families with annual income less than Rs 1 lakh.

Students from families with annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh will also be entitled to a fee waiver of two-thirds amount.

The officials said the fee hike has been effected with an aim of providing more resources to these institutions so that highest quality education can be provided.