Delhi University executive council approves annual report amid ₹161 crore HEFA loan controversy

According to a report by news outlet AajTak, the Executive Council of Delhi University (DU) has approved the annual report for the academic session 2025-26, despite growing resentment and vehement opposition over the increasing dependence on financing taken from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA).

A warning was issued by an elected member of the council that this move to take loans could accelerate commercialization in the university and weaken its core character as a public institution.

Official authorities informed that a special meeting of the Executive Council was organized on Thursday to deliberate on the annual report, where the report was passed amidst notes of heavy dissent.

In this entire matter, a loan of ₹161 crore has come under intense discussion and a circle of questions. Mithuraj Dhusia, an elected member of the Executive Council, submitted a dissent note expressing serious concerns over the university's mounting financial liabilities. He raised stern questions against the use of loans being obtained from HEFA to meet infrastructure and other capital requirements.

The dissent note clearly stated that by March 31, 2026, the university's pending debt to HEFA is projected to reach approximately ₹161.36 crore. This amount includes an opening balance of ₹46.93 crore, a new loan of ₹109.63 crore disbursed during the current financial year, and accumulated interest of ₹4.80 crore.

In addition, member Dhusia also raised strong objections to the fact that the university has to pay 10 percent, which is ₹3.15 crore, towards the repayment of the principal amount from its internal sources. However, the remaining 90 percent of this loan amount, amounting to ₹28.35 crore, is paid by the Union Ministry of Education.

The dissent note expressed a strong apprehension that this responsibility of loan repayment could push the university towards increasing student fees for revenue generation, commercial exploitation of institutional resources, and increasing the number of self-financing courses.

Along with all these matters, the note also very strongly raised the issue of ₹221.50 crore in unutilized grants received from the Ministry of Minority Affairs. It posed a direct question as to why the university is showing such heavy dependence on commercial financing when grants received from the government are lying unutilized.

The note stated in clear words that an official demand should be made by DU that all its types of expenses should be met solely and exclusively through grants received from the government. Other members of the council also believe that this continuously increasing dependence on commercial loans will divert the university's entire focus from teaching and research towards loan repayment, ultimately causing massive damage to its public character. However, amidst all these protests and serious concerns, the annual report has finally been cleared.