Only Rs 20.5b development budget for FY 2015-16

Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission will get Rs 71 billion budget for the fiscal year 2015-16 including 52 billion non-development and 20.5 billion development funds  with almost no increase in the development allocations.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that Rs 20.5 billion have been fixed for 143 ongoing projects of the HEC, while the commission was already getting Rs 52 billion in addition to that.
The federal government has not felt the need to increase the development budget of HEC as in the Public Development Sector Programme (PSDP) 2015-16, only Rs 843 million have been increased as compared to the last year.
According to the budget document, the government has allocated Rs 4.6 billion for the new schemes and Rs 15,923 million for the ongoing schemes of the higher education commission.
Out of the total allocation for the ongoing schemes, an amount of Rs 1.2738 billion has been earmarked for Indigenous PhD Fellowship for 5,000 scholars, Rs 980 million for Human Resource Development Initiative MS leading to PhD programme and Rs 800 million for overseas scholarships for MS/M.Phil leading to PhD in selected fields (Phase-II).
Rs 450 million has been reserved for expansion of the University of Gujrat, Rs 427  million for Masters leading to PhD scholarships programme for the students of Balochistan and Rs 413 million for establishment of University at Turbat.
Rs 350 million has been allocated for establishment of University at Loralai while Rs 300 million each has been reserved for the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore and up gradation of Mirpur University College of Engineering and Technology into Mirpur University of Science and Technology.
An amount of Rs 250 million each has been allocated for completion of unfinished work on academic blocks at Hazara University and development of new campus of Government College University Lahore. Rs 240 million have been allotted for up gradation of University of Engineering and Technology Taxila and its sub-campuses and Rs 215 million for Pak-USAID Merit Based Scholarship Programme (Phase-II).
Rs 200 million each has been reserved for Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Larkana, Women University Multan, expansion of Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, Jalozai Campus of University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, provision of academic and allied facilities at University of Swabi and provision of basic amenities at Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology Khuzdar.
An amount of Rs 191 million has been reserved for the National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Rs 175 million for research programmes at HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi and Rs 155 million for construction of hostels at King Edward Medical University Lahore and 100 million for PunjabUniversity.
Out of the total amount for new schemes, Rs 500 million has been reserved for Technical University Nowshehra, Rs 450 million for Science Farming Scheme, Rs 400 million for establishment of Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation University, Rs 300 for establishment of Technology Development Fund for HEC scholars returning after completion of PhD and Rs 250 million for establishment of FATA university. An amount of Rs 200 million each has been allocated for Innovation Centre and Park at UET Lahore sub-campus Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad.