PM-SHRI innovation mentoring event previously opposed by Mamata govt, to be held at JU
Telegraph | 13 May 2026
Jadavpur University will host a three-day mentoring programme on innovation for schools under the Centre’s PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme, which the Mamata Banerjee government had earlier opposed.
The mentoring session, organised at the behest of the Union education ministry, will begin on May 13 at JU’s Triguna Sen auditorium. Besides PM-SHRI schools, non-PM-SHRI institutions will also participate in the programme.
Around 200 teachers and students from eastern and northeastern states are expected to attend. JU vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee will inaugurate the event.
Bengal, along with Tamil Nadu and Kerala, had refused to join the scheme after the Narendra Modi government made it mandatory for participating schools to add the PM-SHRI prefix to their names in order to receive central funds for infrastructure upgrades. The Bengal government had objected to the condition, arguing that the state was expected to bear 40% of the project cost.
In September 2022, the Union cabinet approved the PM-SHRI scheme to upgrade up to 14,597 existing state-run schools across the country. These schools are to later mentor other schools in the neighbourhood. Under the scheme, states are required to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre to get funding.
Then education minister Bratya Basu had, in March 2024, accused the Union government of withholding funds under the Sarva Shiksha Mission. In a post on X, he wrote: “The unstated reason is that we have not signed MoU with GoI on PM SHRI!!”
The resistance to the scheme eased following the change of guard in the state on May 4.
The Union education ministry selected JU to host the mentoring programme. “The ministry is spending ₹18 lakh to host the seminar at JU. The programme is financially supported by the ministry’s innovation cell. Such programmes should increasingly be held in Bengal so the state benefits from them and more funds come for students,” Bhattacharjee told Metro.
Bhattacharjee was appointed VC in November 2025 after being selected by a Supreme Court-appointed search-and-selection committee from a panel set in order of preference by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Union government schemes often help. In January, JU inaugurated a centre for the evaluation of traditional medicine, funded with ₹9.66 crore from the Union ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy),” Bhattacharjee said.
The three-day programme will include expert mentoring, innovation and design-thinking activities, hands-on sessions and exposure visits. On the concluding day, student innovators will present their ideas before mentors and experts.
Selected innovations may receive financial assistance of up to ₹1.5 lakh under the school innovation contest. Schools may also receive up to ₹34,100 for filing patents under the Centre’s Kapila Initiative.