Expansion of Academic Assistance in Higher Education
The Ministry of Education detailed comprehensive initiatives to enhance access and affordability in higher education, aligned with National Education Policy 2020 objectives. In FY 2025-26, the Central Government provided approximately 1.09 crore scholarships for post-matric and higher education, comprising 36 lakh scholarships for Other Backward Classes (OBC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and Denotified Tribes (DNT) students; 48 lakh scholarships for Scheduled Castes (SC) students; and 24 lakh scholarships for Scheduled Tribes (ST) students.
Infrastructure and Financial Support Mechanisms
The Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) has disbursed loans worth Rs 24,977.62 crores to Centrally Funded Institutions since its inception in 2017 for infrastructure development, including hostel facilities. Funding to Central Universities has increased significantly from Rs 5,603.79 crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs 1,13,943.55 crore from FY 2014-15 to FY 2025-26, with Rs 17,440 crore allocated for 2026-27. The Union Budget 2026–27 proposed establishing one Girls' Hostel in every district to improve access to higher education, particularly in STEM institutions.
Digital Education and Scholarship Programs
The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) supports digital education initiatives, including the SWAYAM platform with over 20,000 course deliveries and 6 crore cumulative enrolments. The multilingual SWAYAM Plus platform offers more than 500 industry-aligned courses across 15 sectors with 89 industry partners as of July 2026. The SATHEE portal, started in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, has registered over 21 lakh learners for competitive exam preparation.
Education Loan Schemes and Financial Assistance
The PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme, launched in November 2024, provides collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans with no upper limit for students gaining merit-based admission in top Quality Higher Education Institutions. Since its launch until 21st July 2026, 1,12,817 loans have been sanctioned amounting to Rs 15,634.78 crore, with 3% interest subvention for students with family income up to Rs 8 lakh on loans up to Rs 10 lakhs. The PM-USP Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme provides full interest subvention during moratorium period for students from families with income up to Rs 4.5 lakhs pursuing technical/professional courses. The PM-USP CGFSEL scheme provides credit guarantee up to 75% of outstanding default for education loans up to Rs 7.5 lakhs.
Enrollment Growth and Impact Metrics
These initiatives have significantly improved higher education access, with Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increasing from 23.7 in 2014–15 to 30 in 2023–24. Female GER rose from 22.9 to 31.2 during the same period, while SC GER increased by 8.9 points and ST GER by 9.3 points. Total higher education enrolment grew from 3.42 crore in 2014–15 to 4.50 crore in 2023–24, adding more than 1.08 crore students. Female enrollment in STEM institutions improved from 38.4% in 2014-15 to 44% in 2023-24.