Delhi govt releases Rs 108 crore grant for 12 DU colleges

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Wednesday released Rs 108 crore as the third instalment of grant-in-aid for 12 fully funded colleges affiliated with Delhi University. According to a statement issued by the office of Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, the funds will be used for teachers' salaries, building maintenance and other essential expenditures in 2025-26.

An additional amount of Rs 24 crore has been released separately for immediate expenses in these colleges, the statement said. Sood said the release of Rs 108 crore reflects the government's commitment to ensuring that "no teacher or student faces a shortage of resources".

"With this, the Delhi government has so far released a total of Rs 325 crore in three instalments during 2025–26 for these 12 fully funded colleges," the statement said.

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The colleges are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, Bhagini Nivedita College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences, and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

Sood said the grant, a "Diwali gift" from Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to teachers and students, will support the financial and academic stability of these institutions. The minister said previous governments either failed to release grants or delayed them, which affected both staff and students.

"As soon as our government came to power, we assessed the financial and infrastructural needs of educational institutions. If institutions are not financially sound, they cannot produce competent students," Sood said.