New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is planning to set up a non-lapsable fund to provide financial support to several of its secondary and higher education schemes.

Similar to the existing Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh, the MHRD is planning to set up Madhyamik and Uchcha Shiksha Kosh with the help of proceeds from education cess.

The Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh had been set up in 2004 with money that had been collected from the 2 percent tax on elementary education schemes such as the mid-day meal schemes and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

At the time in 2007 when the government had imposed an additional one percent tax on Secondary and Higher Education so as to fund new seats in higher education institutes where a 27 percent reservation is necessary for other backward classes (OBC), the HRD ministry did not have a non-lapsable fund to store the money.

This had led to the money that had not been utilized to lapse automatically and directed to the Consolidated Fund of India. Setting up the new non-lapsable fund has enabled the HRD ministry to ensure that the money collected via the cess will be at the ministry's disposal even if it is not utilized.

To start with, the non-lapsable fund will be allotted around Rs. 3000 crore and will also provide assistance in setting up of the National Education Fund Corporation that had been proposed to the HRD ministry.

It is expected that the fund would also help in providing monetary assistance to existing funds that are in need of investment, such as, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the Girls Hostel Scheme and Information and Computer Technology in education.