Cabinet Clears Rs 1.18 Trn Expansion Plan for 5 IITs

13 May 2025 CW Team

The total outlay for this initiative is Rs 1.18 trillion (approximately £11.8 billion), to be spent over a four-year period from 2025–26 to 2028–29. This strategic investment aims to bolster India’s higher education sector and foster advanced research and innovation.

The expansion plan includes the creation of 130 new faculty posts (at Professor level and above) and the establishment of five state-of-the-art research parks to enhance collaboration between academia and industry.

As a result, the total student capacity across these five IITs will increase by over 6,500—from the current 7,111 to 13,687—across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes. Annual intake will increase incrementally, adding 1,364 students in the first year, 1,738 in the second, 1,767 in the third, and 1,707 in the fourth year.

This expansion will allow more students nationwide to pursue world-class engineering education. The move is expected to generate employment through recruitment of faculty, researchers, administrative and support staff. It will also spur regional economic development through demand for housing, transport, and local services.

Though these IITs are situated in specific states, admissions remain open to candidates across India, reinforcing their role as national institutions.

According to the 2025–26 Union Budget, the total number of students across all 23 IITs has doubled in the past decade—from 65,000 to 135,000. The new infrastructure will support this growing demand, particularly in IITs established after 2014, which began operations from temporary campuses between 2015–16 and 2016–17 and are now functioning from their permanent sites.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity at five newly established Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) located in Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu), and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad).The total outlay for this initiative is Rs 1.18 trillion (approximately £11.8 billion), to be spent over a four-year period from 2025–26 to 2028–29. This strategic investment aims to bolster India’s higher education sector and foster advanced research and innovation.The expansion plan includes the creation of 130 new faculty posts (at Professor level and above) and the establishment of five state-of-the-art research parks to enhance collaboration between academia and industry.As a result, the total student capacity across these five IITs will increase by over 6,500—from the current 7,111 to 13,687—across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes. Annual intake will increase incrementally, adding 1,364 students in the first year, 1,738 in the second, 1,767 in the third, and 1,707 in the fourth year.This expansion will allow more students nationwide to pursue world-class engineering education. The move is expected to generate employment through recruitment of faculty, researchers, administrative and support staff. It will also spur regional economic development through demand for housing, transport, and local services.Though these IITs are situated in specific states, admissions remain open to candidates across India, reinforcing their role as national institutions.According to the 2025–26 Union Budget, the total number of students across all 23 IITs has doubled in the past decade—from 65,000 to 135,000. The new infrastructure will support this growing demand, particularly in IITs established after 2014, which began operations from temporary campuses between 2015–16 and 2016–17 and are now functioning from their permanent sites.

Infrastructure Transport

07 Aug 2026

Government Plans Rs 450 bn Rail Investment Along Borders

The government plans to invest Rs 450 bn to upgrade railways along borders with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the press release said. The programme will run over 18 to 24 months and will finance new tracks, platforms and network strengthening across Punjab, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and several northeastern states. That is about $4.7 bn. Officials indicated the initiative represents nearly 22 per cent of all railway infrastructure outlay planned over the next two years and is among the most significant strategic infrastructure pushes in recent years. The plan extends be..

Infrastructure Transport

07 Aug 2026

Indian Railways Approves Daily Express Between Mumbai CSMT And Sawantwadi Road

Indian Railways has approved a new daily express service between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai, and Sawantwadi Road to boost rail connectivity across Maharashtra and the Konkan region. The service will operate over a 510-km route and will run daily as Train No. 15087 CSMT–Sawantwadi Road Express and Train No. 15088 Sawantwadi Road–CSMT Express. It is intended to provide direct and reliable rail connectivity for passengers travelling for tourism, education, employment and business. The Ministry of Railways said the move forms part of ongoing efforts to expand passenger..

Infrastructure Urban

07 Aug 2026

SECR Invites Rs 4550.2 mn EPC Tender For Chhattisgarh Line

South East Central Railway (SECR) has invited bids for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth Rs 4550.2 mn for a section of the Dallirajhara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur New Railway Line in Chhattisgarh. The contract covers a nearly 30 km stretch between Kurkanar and Bhanpuri and forms part of the larger corridor linking the mineral-rich Bastar region with the state rail network. The authority has positioned the package as a key link to improve passenger and freight movement within the region. Tender documents carry tender number CAO-C-BSP-26-27-14 and an earnest money deposit ..