New Delhi: With the commencement of the XI Plan, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has constituted Expert Visiting Committees to visit 168 Universities eligible to receive financial grants from UGC.

30 Universities have already been visited and the visits to remaining other universities have been scheduled.

At the beginning of each Five Year Plan, UGC sends Expert Visiting Committees to all the universities eligible to receive financial assistances to evaluate their performance/implementations of schemes in the previous Plan period and to assess their financial requirements for the next Plan.

Under the General Development Assistance, it is proposed to increase General Development Grants approximately by 100 percent over the X Plan for Central/State/Deemed Universities.

Development assistance under the following heads is provided by the UGC to eligible Universities under the General Plan Development Grant during the XI Plan period:

1. Infrastructure, Building
2. Campus Development
3. Staff
4. Central Library
5. Equipment
6. Innovative Research Activities
7. New Extension Activities and Outreach Programmes
8. ICT (Information Communication Technology)
9. Health Centre
10. Student Amenities
11. Jubilee Grants

The UGC has decided that General Plan Development Grants to the individual university would be made available during the XI plan on the basis of the outlays determined and shall be in operation for the period from 1st April, 2007 to 31st March, 2012.

The scheme will end with the plan period, i.e. on 31st March, 2012.

Also, during the XI Plan, UGC proposes to merge the following schemes with General Development Grants Scheme. These include Travel Grants, Conferences/Seminars/ Symposia/ Workshops, Publication Grants, Appointment of Visiting Professor/Visiting Fellow, Day Care Centres, Adventure Sports and Development of Sports Infrastructure and Equipment, Special Development Grants for Universities in Backward/Rural/ Remote/Border Areas, Special Development Grant for Young Universities and Rejuvenation Grant for Old Universities, Instrumentation Maintenance Facility (IMF), Construction of Women's Hostels, Basic facilities for Women, Faculty Improvement Programme (Teacher Fellowship for doing M.Phil/Ph.D.), Equal Opportunity Cell, Coaching Schemes for SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/ Minorities, Establishment of Career and Counselling Cell in Universities, and Facilities for Differently Abled (Physically Challenged) Persons.

The allocation for these schemes would be made at the beginning of the XI Plan based on the recommendations of the Visiting Committees.

Therefore no separate application for each year of XIth Five Year Plan is required for 16 merged schemes.