AICTE-Technical University Joint Training Programs for Librarians

What is the AICTE-Technical University Joint Training Programs for Librarians scheme?

The AICTE-Technical University Joint Training Programs for Librarians is a capacity-building scheme run jointly by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), under the Ministry of Education, and a technical university to which AICTE-approved institutions are affiliated. According to the AICTE scheme document, the programme trains librarians "to prepare them for being successful and effective in a knowledge society" and to help them deliver quality, user-centred library and information services.

The scheme is deliberately narrow. It funds a five-day residential training programme for librarians, costing up to Rs 3 lakh, with the cost split 50:50 between AICTE and the technical university. AICTE releases Rs 1.5 lakh per programme and the university contributes an equal amount from its own funds.

Key features

• The programme is organised by a technical university, not by an individual.
• Total cost is capped at Rs 3,00,000 (or actual expenditure, whichever is lower).
• It is a five-day residential programme with 25–30 participants minimum.
• A university runs one such programme in a financial year under the scheme.
• Certification is joint between the university and AICTE.

Who is eligible for the librarian training programme?

Who can attend

• All librarians deployed in AICTE-approved institutions are eligible to participate. When a university opens a call, eligible librarians apply online to attend.

Who organises it

• A technical university to which AICTE-approved institutions are affiliated organises the programme, invites applications, conducts the training and does the certification jointly with AICTE. The university must have residential infrastructure. A guest house, dining hall and similar facilities, because the programme is residential.

Who cannot apply

• Individual librarians cannot apply for the grant or receive any cash benefit; they only attend the training as participants free of charge.
• A standalone college or institution cannot draw the grant directly. The funding route runs through the affiliating technical university.
• The scheme does not fund non-librarian staff; it is specific to librarians, although allied AICTE faculty-development schemes such as the Short Term Training Programme cover other categories.

How is the funding shared?

The scheme document sets out a clear 50:50 split for the Rs 3 lakh ceiling:

AICTE's share; Rs 1.5 lakh covers:

• TA/DA and honorarium to resource persons (honorarium not to exceed 20% of the total programme cost),
• TA to outstation participants, and
• course material for participants.

The technical university's share; Rs 1.5 lakh (from its own funds) covers:

• boarding and lodging of participants,
• honorarium to the programme coordinator (not to exceed 1% of the total programme cost), and
• working expenses such as tea/coffee, stationery, certificates and printing.

At least one session of three hours in the programme is to be devoted to moral values, ethics, behavioural sciences and attitude.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the librarian training

Because this is an institutional scheme, the steps differ for the university and for the librarian.

For a librarian who wants to attend

1. Watch for the call: AICTE and the technical university advertise the programme and invite applications online through the university's web portal, with a link on the AICTE website.
2. Apply online to your affiliating technical university within the timeline in the advertisement.
3. Attend the five-day residential programme if selected, and take the end-of-programme test to earn the joint AICTE-university certificate.

For a technical university that wants to run the programme

1. Plan the programme in line with the AICTE scheme document — five days, residential, 25–30 participants, and arrange guest-house and dining facilities.
2. Constitute a Steering Committee for implementation, on which AICTE nominates a representative.
3. Place the advertisement and invite applications online on the university portal with a link on the AICTE site.
4. Conduct the training and the test, then issue certificates jointly with AICTE only to those who qualify.
5. Submit the closure documents: schedule, resource-person and participant lists, question paper and mark sheet, photographs and video, and file the CA-audited Utilization Certificate and expenditure statement in the prescribed format within a month of the end of the financial year.

How much benefit does the scheme provide?

The scheme does not put money into any individual's hands. Its benefit is the funded training itself: a five-day residential programme worth up to Rs 3 lakh, delivered free to participating librarians, with AICTE releasing Rs 1.5 lakh and the university matching it. Honorarium ceilings to 20% of cost for resource persons and 1% for the coordinator, keep spending focused on the training rather than on administration. The university is accountable for the grant, must abide by AICTE's financial terms, and is subject to surprise visits by AICTE while the programme is in progress, as well as inspection and audit of accounts.

Help and where to verify details

The scheme document ("AICTE-Technical University Joint Training Programs for Librarians; Scheme Document and Guidelines") is published on the AICTE website at aicte.gov.in, and the scheme is listed on the national myScheme portal. AICTE has not published a dedicated helpline for this scheme; librarians should direct queries to their affiliating technical university, which is named the facilitator for the programme, and universities should contact AICTE. This is a genuinely niche, low-volume scheme, so librarians are best served by monitoring their university's portal for the annual call.