To improve the quality of technical education, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced four schemes under the Infrastructure Development and Capacity Building (IDCB) initiatives for current academic year 2026-27. Interestingly, authorities of Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Technical University (CSVTU) Bhilainagar and other universities of the State have started process to adopt these schemes in their institutes. As per circular of the council, “The schemes aim to strengthen institutional infrastructure, promote experiential learning and research, encourage academic collaboration, and improve the quality of technical education.” AICTE will provide financial assistance to eligible institutions under all four schemes to support their implementation. The four schemes are the IDEA Lab, Grant for Organizing Conference (GOC), Modernization and

 

Re-structuring for Outcome Based System (MODROBS), and Margdarshan Scheme. “Together, they seek to create a stronger ecosystem for innovation, practical learning, infrastructure development and institutional mentoring,” it added. The IDEA Lab scheme promotes hands-on learning through the concept of ‘learning by doing’, enabling students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts to real-world challenges. The GOC scheme facilitates knowledge exchange among academicians, researchers and experts through national and international conferences. Under MODROBS, AICTE will support the modernisation of laboratories, workshops and computing facilities to strengthen practical learning, research and industry-oriented education.

 

The Margdarshan Scheme will facilitate mentoring by reputed institutions and Centrally Funded Institutions, helping other institutions improve academic practices, share resources and work towards better institutional performance and National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings. CSVTU management has started work on it and is in process to adopt them as soon as possible. “It is a great initiative and these schemes will help students to get exposure in the technical and information technology field,” pointed Dr Arun Arora, Vice-Chancellor of CSVTU. Dr P K Sharma, Technical Educationist asserted that now centre-level institutes such as IITs and NITs will help new government colleges and private engineering colleges for improving standards of their technical education. This step would help to remove the barrier between top engineering and small as well as private engineering institutes of the state, added Dr Sharma.