More than Rs.21 billion has been allocated by the Union Budget 2009-10 to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs). The investment in the premier technology institutes is in keeping with the government’s push to higher education.
A total of 12 IITs and 20 NITs are functioning in the country. The figure includes those which have been launched recently.
Presenting the budget, the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, "The demographic advantage India has in terms of large percentage of young population needs to be converted into a dynamic economic advantage by providing them the right education and skills. The provision for the scheme Mission in Education through ICT has been substantially increased to Rs.900 crore."
Besides, the allocation for polytechnics has been hiked by Rs.495 crore.
The budget also proposed to allocate a fund of Rs.827 crore for the government’s scheme to set up central universities in the uncovered states