What happened: PM-USHA launched as the RUSA third phase (June 2023)
The Government launched Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) as the third phase of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) in June 2023 for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26. The Ministry of Education stated a reported outlay of Rs 12,926.10 crore, and stated that the outlay includes committed liabilities of earlier RUSA phases. PM-USHA was stated to cater to the needs of educationally unserved/underserved areas.
Maharashtra’s higher education scale (as stated)
The Ministry of Education stated the following counts of higher education institutions in Maharashtra, and also stated higher education enrolment.
Maharashtra (as stated): 87 universities, 5,380 colleges, and 2,426 stand-alone institutions.India (as stated): 1,289 universities, 48,246 colleges, and 15,221 stand-alone institutions.
The Ministry of Education also stated that Maharashtra is among the top seven states by higher education enrolment, with approximately 46.53 lakh students.
Related current affairs
- RUSA phase-3/PM-USHA projects approved under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan and PM-USHA
- PM-USHA (third phase of RUSA) outlay and extension for higher education access, equity and excellence
- MERU/PM-USHA approvals for Andhra Pradesh and implementation activities including NCrF/CBCS and Academic Bank of Credits
- Higher education faces three hurdles
- Parliament Question: Vacancies in Universities—Faculty recruitment and backlog filling in centrally funded HEIs
- Implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and related reforms