Edu Guru Corner

Higher education institutions should be incentivized to build significant endowments: Murthy

Union Budget Expectation 2022-23

- Prof (Dr.) Y.S.R. Murthy, Founding Vice-Chancellor, RV University, Bengaluru

“With the current pandemic situation, it is crucial to prioritise education and health in India. Despite many promises, the allocation for education had never touched 6% of GDP in India. But the government should focus on the needs of the education sector in general, and higher education in particular. As two-thirds of the higher education sector is in the hands of the private sector, it is time to encourage private corporate philanthropy in a big way through fiscal and other incentives. We also need to create an enabling environment to let the private sector come forward and establish new institutions. Contributions made by a corporate or a foundation or any other grant-making entity to a University or to a research center or a center of excellence (being part of a university or higher education institution) or a new university approved by the government or an approved program under a university-industry partnership, should be eligible for deduction from taxable income to the extent of 300% of such contribution. 

 

Higher education institutions should be incentivized to build significant endowments. We would want the government to set up a scholarship to be named “The Indian Corporate Higher Education Scholarship’ with a corpus of Rs.1,000 crores contributed by the top 1000 corporations of the country. This should be run by an eminent independent board. This scheme should be encouraged by the government by providing full matching grants as well as providing tax exemption of up to 300% for all contributions.”

(Writer Prof (Dr.) Y.S.R. Murthy Is The Founding Vice-Chancellor, RV University, Bengaluru)

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