LAHORE: (Thursday, July 3, 2025): The 1758th meeting of the Syndicate was held under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali for the budget recommendations of Punjab University for the financial year 2025-26, in which the Syndicate recommended the Senate to approve a budget of Rs 20.16 billion. On the directions of Dr Muhammad Ali, it has been recommended to increase scholarships and subsidies to reduce the financial burden of students and their parents. On the instructions of Dr. Muhammad Ali, the university has increased the amount of scholarship from Rs 380 million to Rs 406 million compared to the previous year. In addition, scholarships will also be given to students of the university under the Honhaar Scholarship Program, HEC and Punjab Education Endowment Fund. Due to the initiatives of Dr. Muhammad Ali, the budget deficit of Punjab University has decreased for the first time. This year, the budget deficit is Rs 1.2 billion compared to Rs 2 billion last year. On this occasion, the syndicate members appreciated the austerity policy of the Punjab University administration. On the instructions of Dr. Muhammad Ali, approval was given to increase the research grant from Rs 229 million to Rs 297 million to further improve the international ranking of the university and promote the research culture that has a positive impact on the country's economic and social development. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Ali said that the university's budget deficit will be eliminated in the next 3 years. He said that the university will prioritize increasing sources of income instead of borrowing. He said that the university's endowment fund will be strengthened. For the first time, the university will receive a grant of Rs 780 million from the Punjab government. According to other salient features of the budget, special students will be provided free education and free accommodation, while students who take admission on the basis of sports will be provided free education and tuition fees for Hafiz Quran will be waived. The Punjab University administration will provide a subsidy of crores of rupees to students residing in the hostel, transport while the subsidy provided towards electricity bills in teaching departments is in addition to this.