Red tape leaves UGC’s social inclusion scheme in limbo, leads to salary crisis

Seven months into the current financial year, 24 central universities still await the renewal of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) flagship scheme for teaching and conducting research on marginalised communities.

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The Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion in Universities (CSSIU) earlier began as a five-year plan in 2007-08. This now runs as a UGC scheme renewed annually from April to March each year.

In a written reply to The Hindu, the Ministry of Education (MoE) stated, “The proposal regarding the continuation of the CSSIU Scheme for the Financial Year 2026-27 is currently under process.”

Prominent universities that conduct two-year Master’s programmes and five-year PhD courses under the centre include Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia, the University of Hyderabad, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Panjab University, amongst others. Apart from teaching, these centres also conduct specialised outreach activities focused on tribal and disadvantaged populations.

Bureaucratic delays, salary crises

Because the scheme is renewed on an annual cycle from April to March, administrative lags have crippled payroll systems in universities. For the financial year 2026-27, while the continuation order for the scheme remains stuck in bureaucratic processing, teaching and non-teaching staff working in these centres either have salaries delayed or remain unpaid.