Telangana budget cuts OU grants by Rs 42 crore for 2026-27

Osmania University may face difficulty paying staff salaries after the Telangana government reduced its block grants by Rs 42 crore for 2026-27, even as other universities saw increased funding and Rs 1,000 crore was allocated for infrastructure development

Hyderabad: The Osmania University (OU) administration will have to struggle to pay salaries of its staff in the next financial year commencing April 1 as the Telangana Congress government slashed the block grants for the university.

The government, which presented the budget on Friday, reduced the block grants for the historic OU by Rs 42 crore for the financial year 2026-27 towards paying salaries of university employees and pensions of retired staff. The university’s block grants have come down from Rs 542.68 crore allocation in 2025-26 to Rs 500.89 crore in 2026-27.

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This reduction is set to increase the financial burden on the university, which has already been presenting a deficit budget every financial year. During the financial year 2025-26, the university presented a budget with a deficit of Rs 43.15 crore.

However, this year, the government allocated Rs 1,000 crore for OU’s infrastructure and other developmental activities on the campus.

On the other hand, all other universities witnessed an increase in their block grants for 2026-27. For instance, Kakatiya University’s grants were increased from Rs 145 crore last year to Rs 165 crore now. Similarly, Dr BRAOU’s grant was allocated Rs 24 crore as against Rs 20 crore last year.

Likewise, block grants for Telangana University went up from Rs 46 crore to Rs 55 crore, from Rs 15 crore to Rs 28 crore for Satavahana University, and from Rs 12 crore to Rs 20 crore for Palamuru University. However, JNTU Hyderabad has seen no change in its block grant of Rs 58 crore.