Just days before being sworn in for his third term as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi announced on Friday, June 7, that his government will prioritise research and innovation in this term.
Modi took to X, formerly Twitter, and complimented the students, faculty and institutions for their hard work and dedication. He added how the qualitative changes his government made in the education sector is seen in the QS World University Rankings.
These remarks followed praise from Nunzio Quacquarelli, CEO and Managing Director of QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd, who credited Modi's leadership for the improved performance of Indian universities in the QS World University Rankings.
"Under Narendra Modi's leadership, the last 10 years have seen continued improvement in the performance of Indian universities in QS World University Rankings. 46 institutions compared to 11 in 2015, a 318% increase in 10 years, the best amongst the G20," he posted on X.
In the QS World University Rankings for 2025, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay secured the 118th rank, and IIT Delhi was ranked 150th. The University of Delhi was notable for the employability of its graduates, ranking 44th globally in the "employment outcomes" category.
In the interim Budget 2024, outgoing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of a ₹1 lakh crore corpus with a 50-year interest-free loan for long-term financing or refinancing with low or zero interest rates.
The government increased the budget allocation for the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) to ₹73,008.10 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year. However, funding for the University Grants Commission (UGC) was reduced to ₹2,500 crore from the previous year's revised estimate (RE) of ₹6,409 crore, a 60.99% decrease.
Overall, the budget for higher education was raised from ₹44,094.62 crore to ₹47,619.77 crore for 2024-25, with the revised estimate for higher education standing at ₹57,244.48 crore.
