Government approves MERITE scheme to strengthen technical institutes

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to implement the Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERITE) scheme in 275 institutions across the country – 175 engineering institutes and 100 polytechnic colleges – Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a Cabinet briefing on Friday (August 8, 2025).

A government statement said MERITE would work as a Central Sector Scheme with a total financial implication of ₹4,200 crore to be spent in five years, between 2025-26 and 2029-30, adding that ₹2,100 crore will come as an external assistance from the World Bank in the form of a loan.

The Education Ministry, in its statement, said the scheme is meant to “improve the quality, equity, and governance” in the selected technical institutes by interventions aligned with the National Education Policy 2020. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the scheme and posted on X, saying, “Research, innovation and skilling will be significantly boosted with this Cabinet decision to support ‘Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education’.”

Education Minister Dharmender Pradhan said the scheme will empower and provide employability to over 7.5 lakh students in India, adding, “Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji has placed unprecedented focus on transforming and revolutionising India’s education landscape.”

The outcomes of the scheme include preparing digitalization strategies in participating States/UTs, developing guidelines for multidisciplinary programmes in technical courses, increasing learning, employability skills, and transition rates across student groups, strengthening research and innovation among others, the government statement said. It said that there will be a focus on “development of future academic administrators, especially women faculty”. 

The project appraisal report prepared by the World Bank for the scheme in 2023 had said that the “overall research productivity of faculty members in engineering education is low, and the research environment needs improvement” and that “most engineering institutions have weak research and innovation linkages with industry and society”. 

The Education Ministry said on Friday (August 8, 2025) that the scheme’s outcomes will include better quality assurance and governance mechanisms, an increase in accreditation, better technical education institutions, and a relevant market-aligned curriculum, among others. It will be implemented in government engineering institutions and polytechnics in all States and UTs, adding that institutions like IITs, IIMs, and regulatory bodies such as AICTE, NBA, will “play a significant role in the scheme implementation”.

The interventions for students will include offering internships, updating curricula to align with the industry, organising faculty development programmes and setting up research hubs. Support will also be given for “incubation and innovation centres, skill and maker labs, and language workshops”.