IIT-B head looks to tackle fund crunch

The director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has called for an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the matter of “funds received by the

The director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has called for an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the matter of “funds received by the institute”.

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“Yes, there is a meeting to discuss funds. We have a strategic plan in place for raising funds, along the lines of IIT-Delhi. We plan to set up an endowment fund where alumni can contribute. The meeting has been called to discuss this plan with the faculty members,” Subhasis Chaudhari, director, IIT-B, told HT. While Chaudhari confirmed that the institute was facing a fund crunch, he did not quantify it.

Last year, IIT-B was chosen as one of the six Institutes of Eminence (IoE) by the Union ministry of human resource development (MHRD). As part of this initiative, the institute is set to receive ₹1,000 crore from the MHRD over five years. However, sources say, so far the institute has received only around ₹43 crore. According to data from IIT-B, the contribution from MHRD has reduced over time. For instance, in the academic year 2013-14, the institute received ₹266 crore from MHRD under various plans of the Centre, and another ₹212 crore for other expenses. The funds from the Centre shrank to ₹158 crore in 2016-17, but ₹345 crore was released for other expenses.

While the institute has been trying to bring in more grants, the flow of grants, too, has now dwindled. In 2016-17, the institute received ₹395 crore as external research and development grants. However, it reduced to ₹312 crore and ₹333 crore, in the next two years, respectively.