Jadavpur University has invited proposals from its departments on how they would like to spend their share of the ₹47 crore allocated to the university under the Rashtriya Uchchatara Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA 2.0).
The proposals have been sought on an urgent basis, as the funds must be utilised by March 31.
Of the total grant, 60% will be provided by the Union government and the remaining 40% by the state.
The funds will be disbursed through the state education department.
The convenor of a committee on RUSA last week asked the heads to send the budget estimates to buy laboratory equipment, and proposals for international conferences and departmental research support.
The VC said that at a time when the university is reeling under a funds crunch, they want to first develop a detailed project report so they can spend the entire sum allotted.
“We want the departments to submit the proposals at the earliest,” vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said.
Indrajit Banerjee, the secretary of the faculty council of arts, who is the convener of the RUSA 2.0 project monitoring unit, wrote in a December 29 notice: “All the teachers and officers are requested to submit their proposals... during office hours.”
JU has worked out five subheads for which the allotted funds can be used:
Support for faculty members to attend conferences/seminars
Research support to faculty and start-up grants
International and national academic networking and collaboration
Support towards organising seminars/ conferences
Development support to upgrade research
The maximum ceiling for organising international seminars/ conferences is ₹5 lakh, for national seminars/ conferences it been fixed at ₹1 lakh.
The maximum reimbursement for attending international seminars/ conferences has been set at ₹2 lakh, and for national seminars, it is ₹50,000.
The December 29 notice says: “Funds may be used for upgradation/repair of the existing equipment and for the renewal of software licences. Funds may also be used for an annual maintenance contract (AMC) for the equipment upgraded under RUSA 2.0.”
Manojit Mandal, a professor who is a member of the university’s project monitoring committee, said: “It is essential for JU to upgrade some of our research projects and teachers must ensure optimum use of the funds available.”
Of the ₹100 crore allotted for JU under the scheme, the university got ₹53 crore in 2019.
A JU official said they had plans to spend ₹3 crore to develop an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which is an integrated software platform that centralises and automates administrative, financial, and student-related processes — replacing manual systems.
JU does not have the facility which is extensively utilised by colleges these days.
Calcutta University will get ₹35 crore under the scheme with the same March 31 rider.