Rs 20,000 crore for DU revamp: Ashneer Grover links campus gaps to study abroad

“Jo afford kar sakte hain — aur jinke bachche honhaar bhi hain — woh bhi foreign university isiliye bhejte hain apne bachchon ko!”The war of words over India’s education infrastructure, which intensified after the collapse of a PG building in Satya Niketan, has now drawn a voice from the corporate world. Former Shark Tank India judge and BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover has directed attention towards the infrastructure at Delhi University, arguing that the university needs a major investment to become a world-class institution.“At least $2 billion (20,000 crore) investment chahiye DU ko world class banane ke liye,” Grover wrote on X.His post came in response to another user who claimed that no new Delhi University hostels had been built after 2014, while alleging that hundreds of BJP offices had been constructed during the same period.The debate over DU’s infrastructure gained fresh attention after the September 6 incident at Satya Niketan.

The university’s hostel capacity remains limited. Of its more than 90 colleges, only 19 have hostel facilities, with Hindu College having the highest capacity at around 560 beds.Several DU colleges also operate from buildings that are decades old, while construction and expansion have often faced regulatory and logistical constraints.Sri Venkateswara College principal Professor Vajala Ravi told India Today that construction within South Campus colleges can be difficult.

“Even for the making of a single room you require to do the wartime effort,” he said, pointing to restrictions on vertical construction in some areas because of the locality and the proximity of the airport.An India Today investigation also found that several proposed hostel projects at DU remain pending, bringing the issue back to one of the university’s persistent challenges: limited infrastructure against a large and diverse student population.The pressure is not difficult to understand.

Students enter DU through CUET-UG from different parts of the country and from varied economic backgrounds. For many, however, access to a college seat does not necessarily come with access to affordable accommodation.The question of funding therefore sits at the centre of the debate. While DU receives government support, its allocation has not increased at the pace of the infrastructure needs facing the university.

At the same time, India’s higher education landscape is changing, with newer institutions investing in modern campuses and facilities.This also feeds into another trend: Indian students increasingly looking abroad for higher education. Better facilities, wider academic choices and employment opportunities are among the factors often cited by students considering foreign universities.Grover’s 20,000-crore estimate may be a broad prescription rather than a formal assessment of DU’s funding requirement.

But his post has brought an old question back into focus: if Delhi University is expected to compete with leading universities globally, can its infrastructure continue to be treated as a secondary concern?- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Sep 9, 2026 18:46 ISTREAD | 70 DU students slept on classroom floors. Venky's principal stayed with them