I consider it my great privilege to welcome all the members of the Board of Finance some of whom are attending this meeting for the first time, in particular, Shri Sanjay Kumar, IAS, who is here with us for the first time after assuming his office as Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration. I am thankful to the Union Territory Chandigarh Administration and Government of Punjab for the timely release of the allocated grants, in particular, Shri Sanjay Kumar, Finance Secretary and Shri S.K. Sandhu, Former Finance Secretary, UT, for releasing the three months grant in advance which in turn helped timely payment of salary to our employees without raising any overdraft from the bank, ultimately resulting in considerable reduction in expenditure and hence savings for the University.
I am happy to mention here that our efforts to cut down expenditure against various budget heads coupled with a number of many other measures during the past to increase our income, has resulted in consistent growth in revenue receipts as is apparent from the following figures:
Year Grant-in-aid received Revenue Receipt
(Rs. in crores)
UT Govt.
(Rs. in crores Pb. Govt.
(Rs. in crores)
2000-2001 28.89 17.89 26.00(A)
2001-2002 31.00 16.00 30.36(A)
2002-2003 33.00 14.40 39.18(A)
2003-2004 28.50 16.00 43.20(A)
2004-2005 28.49 16.00 48.57(A)
2005-2006 31.95 17.42 61.83(A)
2006-2007 32.50 16.00 69.23(A)
2007-2008 36.58 14.67* 74.41(RE)@@
2008-2009 .. .. 91.73(E)
A-Actual;
E-Estimates;
RE-Revised Estimates
*Which are likely to increase by 31st March 2008 @@There would have been much more increase had the NRI/Industry sponsored admissions not stopped by the High Court.
While the grant for the month of March 2008 is expected to be received from the Punjab Government in due course, the grants from UT Administration have already been received in advance i.e. up to 31st March 2008.
As against the approved original Estimated Deficit of Rs.8192.64 lacs for 2007-08, the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, has issued directive for Rs.5478.20 lacs only. The Revised Estimated deficit for the year 2007-08 is being presented as Rs.7649.28 lacs, including the projected expenditure of Rs.10 crore for Pension Scheme Corpus, some infrastructural development works and payment of DA.
I am happy to report that against the originally estimated income of Rs.6896.63 lacs during the year 2007-08, we have been able to increase it to
the tune of Rs.7441.04 lacs (an increase of Rs.544.41 lacs) after deducting Rs.506.09 lacs, to be transferred to the ‘Foundation for Higher Education &
Research’; as 50 percent fee of the Foreign/PIO/NRI/NRI sponsored/Industry sponsored students, as per decision of the Consultative Committee,
constituted by the Government of India for Panjab University, provided we get the respective share of both the Governments in full, failing which we
will be able to transfer only the UT share to the Corpus Fund in the current year. We have not been getting 40% share from the Punjab Government in full
and, therefore, shall not be able to transfer the share of the Punjab Government to that fund this year also. This increase in revenue receipts
has been possible due to the following reasons:
i) increase in examinations registration/re-evaluation fee @ 5%
ii) increase in number of students for various university
examinations
iii) income on account of special chances given under Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.
iv) conduct of B.Ed. Entrance Test for UT Colleges at Chandigarh
v) additional revenue due to commencement of
a) 4th year class of B.A., LL.B (Hons.) 5 years Integrated Course in the University Instt. Of Legal Studies, P.U.,Chandigarh
b) 2nd year of BDS course in Dr H.S. Judge Institute of Dental Science & Hospital
c) 1st year of new courses under Emerging Areas at P.U. Campus
c) 1st year of LL.B. 3 years; B.A., LL.B. 5 years Integrated Course; and M.C.A. course and 2nd year of B.E. 4 years course at Swami Sarvanand Giri P.U. Regional Centre, Hoshiarpur and
d) 2nd year of B.A., LL.B. 5 years Integrated Course and 1st year of M.B.A. course at Regional Centre, Ludhiana.
The estimated budget deficit being presented for the year 2008-2009 is Rs.9571.54 lacs. In view of the financial constraints of the sharing
governments, the new and special demands of Rs.505.96 lacs, which had been received from the various Departments/Offices of the University, were
considerably pruned to a mere Rs.37.48 lacs, which includes Rs.20.00 lacs to be sanctioned for Diamond Jubilee Celebrations and 10% increase under budget head ‘Contingencies’ for all the Departments to meet the expenses of water,electricity, telephone charges etc.
The Consultative Committee constituted by Government of India in its meeting held on 4.7.2001 on the recommendation of the Expert Committee
constituted by it, accepted the formula worked out to allow an increase of 8% per annum on the actual deficit of respective previous year for calculating the directive for the succeeding year. But since 2005-06, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary & Higher Education, Government of India, New Delhi, has not been taking into account the above said decision of Consultative Committee i.e. increase of 8% per
annum on actual deficit for the succeeding years. The actual deficit of 2005-06 was Rs.5478.20 lacs and the Government of India, M.H.R.D., New
Delhi, capped the Directive at Rs.5478.20 lacs (excluding 8% increase) only instead of Rs.5916.45 lacs. Moreover, the actual deficit for the year 2006-
07 was Rs.5775.11 lacs but again the M.H.R.D. had capped it to Rs.5478.20 lacs i.e. at the level of the year 2005-06 instead of Rs.6237.12 lacs.
It would be pertinent to mention here that the University had to meet the additional expenditure on account of release of annual increments
to its employees, two additional Dearness Allowance installments as sanctioned by the Punjab Government, leave encashment to the retiring employees, payment of Pension to the retired/retiring employees, charges and taxes for various services being availed and purchases being made by the University as well as over-all increase in prices of various goods due to inflation as also to meet some other emergent requirements of the departments/offices/branches on the Campus besides the Regional Centres at Muktsar, Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur. Accordingly, even after applying various checks and balances, the original estimated expenditure for 2007-08 which was Rs.15505.03 lacs had to be revised to Rs.15090.32, which, inter-alia, includes Rs.10 crore for Pension Corpus, as approved by the Board of Finance/Syndicate/Senate earlier. I would also like to add here, that although the Board of Finance had sanctioned a provision of 40% against the vacant teaching posts during the current year 2007-2008, yet these were being filled only on need basis. However, provision for all the sanctioned posts has been made in the next financial year, 2008-09due to direction of the University Grants Commission to fill all the vacant seats.
The budget estimate being presented for the year 2008-2009, is primarily a salary budget where 75.95% of the total expenditure is to be spent on salary alone. However, we have been able to reduce the expenditure on the salary of the staff to some extent by filling up only the need-based posts without adversely affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the University administration. It is worth mentioning that it would have been very difficult and rather impossible to make payment of salary to the employees and meet other recurring liabilities of annual increment of staff and payment of dearness allowance, in the absence of a directive, ever since 2005-2006, to the two sharing Governments by the Ministry of Human Resource Development by taking into account the 8% increase on the actual expenditure/revenue receipts of the preceding year as approved by the Consultative Committee of India at its meeting held on 4.7.2001 if we had not started a number of partially self-supporting courses in the University. Increase in revenue has also been due to a large increase in the number of students both in the undergraduate as well as postgraduate classes.
The University, however, has not been getting full share of 40% grant-in-aid from the Punjab Government during the last 5 years commencing from. the financial year 2000-2001 as per the Directives issued by the Government of India every year, We received, as in the previous years, Rs.5.91 crore less than the sanctioned grant for the year 2007-08. We hope that the Punjab Government would soon release its full share of grant for the current year including all outstanding arrears of grant-in-aid of Rs.28.96 crore. The UT Administration had, however, been paying not only its share of 60% grant-in-aid in time, but has also very kindly cleared almost all arrears as and when these became due.
Some of the salient features of the Budget Estimate being presented for the year 2008-09 include the following:
1. Contingency of departments/offices has been proposed to be increased by about 10% of the existing provisions.
2. 7% grants have been provided for infrastructural development of those departments, which are admitting NRI students. In case, the amount
allocated to these departments for the year 2008-2009, if it is not utilized by them fully up to 31.3.2009, the aggregate unspent amounts of all
such departments shall be re-distributed, on need basis, to the Non-NRI departments for development of their infrastructural facilities during the
year 2009-10.
3. A new 100 bedded Dental Hospital is being constructed and Rs.3.00 crore have already been sanctioned.
4. University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (for MBA Sectoral) is being started from the academic session 2008-09.
5. Master’s programme in Stem Cell & Tissue Engineering
6. In fulfillment of Vision and Mission of Panjab University as also the societal needs, it is proposed to start the following new self-financing
courses from the next academic session 2008-09:
(i) Different courses in the University Institute of Applied Management Sciences;
(ii) New self-financing courses B.Sc.(H.S.) and M.Sc.(H.S.) in Physics and Electronics;
(iii) M.Sc. (Microbial Biotechnology);
(iv) Certificate course in Landscape Gardening, Mushroom and Spirulina Cultivation of Botany;
(v) Certificate/Diploma course in Art Appreciation in the Department of Fine Arts;
(vi) Remedial/proficiency courses in the Department of English;
(vii) Popular Indian Media and Culture; Text and Context (M.Phil. English Courses);
(viii) 5-Year Integrated Course of B.E.(Chemical) with MBA;
(ix) M.Phil. course in Defence Studies;
(x) One year Postgraduate Diploma course and 3 months executive certificate course in Disaster Management and Security;
(xi) MCA Programme in evening shift;
(xii) Masters course in Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering;
(xiii) MBA in Department of Correspondence Studies;
(xiv) Masters in Disaster Management;
(xv) Diploma in Vernacular Journalism (Hindi and Punjabi)
(xvi) (a) M. Pharmacy in Drug Discovery and Drug Development; and
(b) M. Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical Analysis & Quality Assurance;
(xvii) Diploma Course in Manuscriptology and Paleography;
(xviii) Training Programme in Cytogenetical, Immunological and Molecular Biology Techniques;
(xix) Certificate Course for Dental Chair-side Assistant;
(xx) A Short-Term Course in Instrumental Analysis;
(xxi) *One-year Diploma in Geo-informatics; and
(xxii) *Two-year Masters degree in Geographic Information Science and Systems
(*These two courses are jointly being developed by the Salzburg University, Austria and the Department of Geography, Panjab University,Chandigarh and both of these are on-line courses).
7. In spite of all the financial constraints and handicaps, we have been able to carry out the urgently needed maintenance and construction
activities, as is evident from the following:
A. Works Completed in 2007-2008 primarily include
i) Construction of Workshop building for University Institute of Engineering & Technology, Sector 25, Chandigarh.
ii) Construction of vertical extension of Girls Hostel No. 3A as the 2nd and last phase i.e., 4th storey to 7th storey.
iii) Providing Steel Gate along with brick boundary wall to newly constructed Boys Hostel No. 7, Sector 14.
iv) Re-carpeting of Internal roads in Sector 14 & 25.
v) Construction of 9” thick boundary wall (Brick) of 6’-9” height with steel gates, wooden sanitary check post in P.U. Campus Sector 25, Chandigarh.
vi) Installation of Lifts in Dr. H.S. Judge Institute of Dental Sciences for the use of students/patients.
B. Works in Progress, inter-alia, include –
i) Construction of Museum for A.I.H.C. & A, Sector 14.
ii) Construction of building for Music Deptt.
iii) Construction of 2nd Phase of Dr. H.S. Judge Institute of Dental
Sciences & Hospital, Sector 25.
iv) Construction of 3rd storey of Law College Building at P.U. Regional Centre, Ludhiana.
v) Construction of Extension of Girls Hostel at Swami Sarvanand Giri P.U. Regional Centre, Bajwara, Hoshiarpur.
vi) Construction of 2nd floor of Law College Building at P.U. Regional Centre, Ludhiana.
vii) Construction of Canteen Block of UIET in Sector 25.
viii) Construction of 3rd and 4th storey of UILS, Sector 14.
C Works sanctioned but yet to be started, prominently include –
i) Construction of Girls Hostel at P.U. Regional Centre, Ludhiana.
ii) Construction of Ist Phase of Girls Hostel No. 1, P.U. South Campus,Sector 25 for UIET and Dental Institute.
iii) Construction of extension of Dining Hall of Boys Hostel No. 7.
With these introductory remarks, I present to you the revised estimates for the financial year 2007-2008 and the budget estimates for the financial year 2008-2009, for consideration and approval.