Indian Government Reports Increase in SC/ST Enrolment in Central Universities, IITs, and IIMs; Takes Measures to Address Student Suicides

All Central Universities (CUs), Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs ), Indian Institutes of Management ( IIMs ) and the Indian Institute of Science ( IISc ) have functional SC/ST cells, the Union government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar said that data on enrolment of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in these institutions is collected through the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). According to the data shared, enrolment of SC and ST students has increased across Central Universities, IITs and IIMs between 2014-15 and 2022-23 (provisional). Central universities recorded an increase in SC enrolment from 71,621 to 89,182, while ST enrolment rose from 25,964 to 32,801 during the same period. IITs saw SC enrolment rise from 10,392 to 18,076 and ST enrolment from 4,546 to 7,408. IIMs also witnessed an uptick in SC students from 983 to 2,537 and ST students from 410 to 942. Responding to queries on student suicides, the minister said that year-wise and state-wise data on student suicides is published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its annual Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report. The government, the minister added, is taking multi-pronged measures and provides psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being. Initiatives such as Manodarpan, including a national toll-free helpline, counselling support, and awareness programmes like Sahyog and Paricharcha, are being implemented to provide psychological and emotional support to students, teachers and families. Meanwhile, the Union Budget 2026 proposes a NIMHANS-2 in northern India. The government also proposes upgrading the National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as regional apex institutions.