IIT fee hiked to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 90k

But Islamabad says channels still open

IITs and NITs across the country will effect a steep hike in tuition fee for students from the next academic year.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) will charge Rs 2 lakh tuition fee per annum for the general category students enrolling for various undergraduate programmes.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani has approved the increasing of the annual fee at all the IITs from the current Rs 90,000.

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) will also almost double the fee from this year. They will charge Rs 1.25 lakh tuition fee per annum, up from the present Rs 70,000.

Waiver schemes
A notification will soon be issued, a top ministry official said. However, a full waiver of tuition fee will be accorded to students from non-reserved category whose annual family income is less than Rs 1 lakh per annum. This will also be applicable to students from below poverty line (BPL) families.

Students from unreserved category with annual family income between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will also get some relief. Such students will be able to avail a concession of two thirds of the total annual tuition fee.

Students taking admissions to the IITs under persons with disability category will not have to pay any tuition fee. The provision for giving full waiver of tuition fee to students belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes will continue.

In NITs, though students belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes get fee waiver, it was not clear at this moment as to whether the NITs will also provide waiver or concession of fee to non-reserved category students belonging to BPL and low income group as approved for the IITs. A standing committee of the IITs had, in its recent report, recommended increase in the tuition fee of the premier technical institutes from the current Rs 90,000 to Rs 3 lakh per semester.

While students requiring to pay Rs 2 lakh per annum fee will have facility to get easy loan without interest, the ministry will ensure that those getting two-thirds waiver in fee also do not face any difficulty in securing loan, a senior ministry official said.