Chandigarh, Oct 30 (Inditop.com) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s alma mater Panjab University here has received a Rs.20 crore grant for the expansion of higher education and infrastructure development in 2009-10, an official said Friday.
The amount is part of a Rs.50 crore special grant announced by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The remaining Rs.30 crore will be allocated in two phases – Rs.20 crore in 2010-11 and Rs.10 crore in 2011-12, the official said.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had in July announced the Rs.50 crore grant for Panjab University while delivering his budget speech.
Interestingly, Manmohan Singh is set to visit Panjab University Nov 3 and the teaching community and students are hoping the prime minister will grant the institution central status. He will be honoured with a D.Litt. degree at a special convocation.
Singh not only completed his post-graduation from this university, originally established in Lahore (now in Pakistan’s Punjab) in 1882, but started his teaching job with the same institution. He became an economics professor at the age of 32.
