AICTE-Margdarshan scheme
AICTE's Margdarshan Scheme pairs accredited technical institutions (Mentor Institutes) with up to 10 nearby, non-accredited colleges (Mentee Institutes) to help them achieve NBA accreditation and improve teaching quality. The Mentor Institute receives up to ₹30 lakh (₹3 lakh per mentee) to conduct workshops, FDPs, and institutional visits. Apply by submitting a Detailed Project Report to AICTE as per circulars released periodically.
About This Scheme
AICTE's Margdarshan Scheme pairs accredited technical institutions (Mentor Institutes) with up to 10 nearby, non-accredited colleges (Mentee Institutes) to help them achieve NBA accreditation and improve teaching quality. The Mentor Institute receives up to ₹30 lakh (₹3 lakh per mentee) to conduct workshops, FDPs, and institutional visits. Apply by submitting a Detailed Project Report to AICTE as per circulars released periodically.
Full official description
Margdarshan Initiative has been introduced by All India Council for Technical Education in 2018 for facilitating the technical institutes in order to improve the quality of technical education as a whole through accreditation by providing access to the facilities available in host institute.This Initiative is a facilitative mechanism that aims to foster & augment the support ecosystem in the Institutes approved by AICTE for enhancing their quality across all domains.
Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute(MI):
A well-established AICTE approved institute/Centrally Funded Institutes such as IITs/ NITs /IIITS/IISc/ISERs/IIMs etc. referred to as Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute (MI) is supported with an objective to mentor up to 10 nearby institutes in achieving accreditation.
Mentee Beneficiary Institute (MBI):
A mentee beneficiary institute (MBI) shall be facilitated by the MI by sharing the best practices, guidance for initiating project proposals, achieving outcome based education and other related aspect. The MBI should be located within a reasonable distance of MI (approximately 200 km). The MI shall be required to submit a list of potential MBIs (limited to 10 institutes) while submitting the application. It may be noted that the participation of an institute to receive mentoring by an MI is purely on voluntary basis. On confirmation of the nomination as MI from AICTE, an MoU shall be executed between the MI and the respective associated MBIs. The Council does not approve of any sort of financial transaction or effect accruing out of such MOU. General terms and conditions of MOUs may be mutually decided between the MI and respective MBIs. In addition, MOU should mandatorily contain undertaking from respective MBIs stating that:
- They have never been enrolled as MIs by AICTE.
- They have never been mapped as MBI with any other MI.
- None of their programs were accredited in the past ten years.
Prerequisites:
An institute seeking MI status must carry out an initial assessment of MBI to ascertain the threshold of host institute for getting accreditation (check of basic parameters such as admissions/enrolment for last three years, faculty, infrastructure etc.). Selecting a MBI without having adequate potential shall be a futile exercise. MIs have to submit present status of the department-wise approved intake, enrolled admissions and present accreditation status of all the proposed MBIs.
Benefits
- Mentor Institute receives ₹3,00,000 per Mentee Institute (up to ₹30,00,000 for 10 mentees)
- Honorarium for MI staff managing the scheme (capped at 4% of total grant)
- Travel allowance for internal experts: AC 2-tier rail or equivalent road travel + ₹3,000/day honorarium
- Mentee Institutes gain access to: workshops on NBA accreditation, faculty development programs (FDPs), guest lectures, institutional visits, curriculum reform support, and research & innovation sessions
Who Can Apply (Eligibility)
For Mentor Institutes (MI):
- Must be an AICTE-approved institution or a Centrally Funded Institution (IIT, NIT, IISc, IIM, etc.)
- Must have valid NBA accreditation for at least 6 more months from the date of application
- No break in approval or zero admissions in the last 10 years
- One proposal per institution; department-wise proposals not accepted
- Institutions under the same management/board as another MI are not eligible
For Mentee Institutes (MBI):
- Must be AICTE-approved
- Must be within approximately 200 km of the Mentor Institute
- Must not have been a Mentor Institute previously
- Must not already be mapped as a Mentee with another Mentor
- None of the institution's programs should have been accredited in the past 10 years
- Institutions under the same management/board as the Mentor are not eligible
Exclusions
For Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute(MI):
- AICTE approved institutions having break in extension of approval or no admission in the institute for any reason, whatsoever, in the last 10 years shall not be considered.
- An institution cannot submit more than one project proposal for MI scheme.
- Department wise nomination is not acceptable.
- An institute having common management/board/parent trust will not be eligible for MI if another institute under the same parental control is already functioning as MI.
- The proposals of institutes having only UG courses accredited shall not be considered for mentoring of MBIs seeking accreditation of PG programs.
For Mentee Beneficiary Institute (MBI):
- Any institute functioning under the same board/management/ trust as that of MI is not permitted for adoption as MBI under the scheme.
How to Apply
Step 01: An institute seeking MI status will be required to forward an application signed from head of the institute along with the detailed project report (DPR).
Step 02: Verify that every page of the application form has the signature and stamp of the Head of Institute.
Step 03: Attach all the essential documents along with the filled application form.
Step 04: Kindly ensure all the information is correct and then send the Application form along with all the essential documents to the concerned address mentioned in the circular released by the AICTE from time to time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Margdarshan scheme?
Margdarshan Initiative has been introduced by All India Council for Technical Education for facilitating the technical institutes in order to improve the quality of technical education as a whole through accreditation by providing access to the facilities available in host institute.
Who manages this scheme?
This scheme is managed by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
When this scheme was been introduced?
Margdarshan scheme was introduced in 2018.
What is the main objective of this scheme?
Margdarshan Initiative intends to improve the quality of technical education as a whole through accreditation by providing access to the facilities available in host institute, spread awareness about various initiative of AICTE and also provide guidance and support for achieving better NIRF ranking.
What is Margdarshan institute?
A well-established AICTE approved institute/Centrally Funded Institutes such as IITs/NITs /IIITS/IISc/ISERs/IIMs etc. referred to as Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute(MI).These institutes are supported with an objective to mentor up to 10 nearby institutes in achieving accreditation.
What is Mentee Beneficiary Institute (MBI)?
A mentee beneficiary institute (MBI) shall be facilitated by the MI by sharing the best practices, guidance for initiating project proposals, achieving outcome based education and other related aspect.
Who are the targeted beneficiaries under this scheme?
Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute(MI) and Mentee Beneficiary Institute (MBI) both are the beneficiaries.
What should be the criteria for the Margdarshan Institute or Mentor Institute(MI)?
The institution, i.e. university, institute, college should have been approved by AICTE. AICTE approval is not mandatory in case of Central Funded Institutions wherever applicable
What should be the criteria for the Mentee Beneficiary Institute (MBI)?
Only AICTE approved institutes are eligible to receive mentoring from MIs. Institutes approved by other regulatory bodies such as PCI, CoA etc. are thus not eligible.
Maximum how many MBIs can be taken up by an MI for mentoring?
An MI Shall be allowed to function with maximum of 10 MBIs.
What is the tenure of nomination of MI?
The duration of the nomination as MI along with necessary grant shall be for a period of three years.
What is the main benefit for the MIs?
The Council has made provisions of a token grant in aid of [?] 3,00,000/- MBI. Hence a maximum [?] 30,00,000/- can be sanctioned to an MI for conducting activities under the Margdarshan Scheme for 10 MBIs altogether.
What is the main benefit for the MBIs?
The MIs can encourage MBIs to organize activities at their respective institutes with resource person(s) invited from MI to deliver the contents.
Ready to apply?
Visit the official government portal to apply for this scheme.
Apply on myScheme.gov.inDocuments Required
- Below are the endorsing checklist that should be enclosed in the [Application cum Detailed Project Report](https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files/margdarshak/DPR_Margdarshan.pdf):
- Basic Details of the institute
- Number of MBIs proposed in the etailed Project Report (DPR)
- Consent of all MBIs proposed in DPR
- Programme wise (Diploma/UG/PG) Pre-Qualifiers for each MBI
- Self-undertaking enclosed
- Details of Proposed Activities enclosed
- Mandate form