Effectively utilizing the campus space for research and cultural development will have positive impact on the well-being of higher education.
There should be radical transformation within the higher education centre. Institutions should ensure that the students are equipped to excel with innovative skills that would make their learning qualitative and productive.
The highlight of this budget is the proposed "India Innovation Centre for Graphene." Graphene is often said as Future's Amazing Substance that finds immense applications in human life owing to its extraordinary physio-thermal properties. Rs.15 crores have been set apart as first instalment for implementing this.
As per latest available figures, India spends less than one per cent of its GDP on research and development activities while countries like the US, China, Israel, and Korea spend 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent

Introduction
The budget (2022-2023) put forward by the Government of Kerala gives a lot of thrust for higher education. The financial outlay for education is Rs.25046 cores,  Rs. 452.67 crores for higher education and Rs. 245.63 crores for technical education. Additionally, Rs.350 crores have been set apart for skill parks in all districts. Students and researchers will be able to interact with the skill parks. Furthermore, 250 international hostel rooms have been proposed and Rs.100 crores for the construction of 1,500 new hostel rooms for campuses of the University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Calicut and Kannur Universities.  We should encourage more students to stay in the campus. This is pivotal for improving the quality of faculty student interactions outside the classrooms. We are just recovering from the down-effects of COVID-19 has imposed on the life of students and there has been a question on the mental and emotional well-being of students during COVID-19. Effectively utilizing the campus space for research and cultural development will have positive impact on the well-being of higher education. Moreover, student satisfaction with the facilities available in the campus is vital for the success of an institution. 20 crores of rupees have been marked for starting new short-term courses and PG courses which will definitely help the students to enrich their knowledge. To bridge the gap between research and application, Rs.200 crores has been devoted for translational research centres, start-ups and incubation centres.
Focus of the budget
The budget is more focused on the conversion of basic research to applied research. Thus, industries, universities, research centres and overall, the community can be congregated under a common platform. Therefore, research institutions should commit to uphold the ethics of research and set high standards of progressive research for benefiting the society. There should be radical transformation within the higher education centre. Institutions should ensure that the students are equipped to excel with innovative skills that would make their learning qualitative and productive. The quality of Higher Education Sector should be enhanced to be beneficial for practical life rather than confining it to mere academic circle. To be precise, teaching should be updated with the recent trends.
Core projects
For supporting and developing research, Rs. 20 crores will be allotted to each university through KIIFB. Special schemes will be allowed to start new short term courses and post graduate courses in project mode at the university campuses. It is also intended to start modern new courses with the assistance of existing departments and to sanction 3 projects to each university envisaged for 5 years. The Government has also announced the Chief Minister's Nava Kerala Post-Doctoral Fellowships where the scholars will be granted with fellowships ranging from Rs.50,000/- to 1,00000/-per month for a period of two years. Mini Industrial Units with modern technical facilities, and Start-ups will be set up adjacent to Engineering Colleges, Polytechnics, ITIs and Arts and Science Colleges. Educated people including former students may associate with this program. A pilot project is announced to start such centers in all 14 districts for which Rs. 25 crore is announced.
Knowledge economy and skill development
The budget emphasizes the transformation of the society from a knowledge society to knowledge economy. A Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) initiative, the Kerala Knowledge Economy mission (KKEM) has been announced for providing Rs. 20 lakh employment opportunities. District Skill Parks in all districts for young entrepreneurs will be set up. Out of these parks, five each will be under the responsibility of ICT Academy of Kerala, and ASAP company Ltd. and the remaining parks will be under KASE. An area of 10 to 15 acres of land required for each park will be acquired. Subsidies and other facilities will be extended to future entrepreneurs for the first 5 years for establishing the units. An amount of Rs. 350 crore is earmarked for District Skill Parks through KIIFB.
Skill courses in educational institutions
This program is envisaged to encourage the institutions in the state to undertake skill courses with regard to the extension of skill ecosystem in our state. Thus, production centres will be developed along with educational institutions. This will be implemented in all 140 constituencies on one constituency-one institution basis. Assistance for basic infrastructure will be provided to institutions that take over courses in cooperation with K-DISC. Rs. 140 crores will be earmarked from KIIFB for this. Medical technology consortium will be constituted involving the allied institutions related to medical field.  Rs.100 crores are given through KIIFB for setting up Medical Technology Innovation Park. Rs.50 crores are earmarked for establishing the first phase of Kerala Genomics Data Centre. An amount of Rs. 5 crore is set apart for Centre of Excellence of Microbiomes which is extremely relevant in the back drop of COVID-19 pandemic. Rs. 25 lakh is provided for the preparation of a detailed project report for the development of Centre of Excellence in Nutraceuticals. The highlight of this budget is the proposed "India Innovation Centre for Graphene.” Graphene is often said as Future's Amazing Substance that finds immense applications in human life owing to its extraordinary physio-thermal properties. Rs.15 crores have been set apart as first instalment for implementing this.
State of art of research in India
Why is India lagging behind in research when compared to other countries? Why are we unable to find the next Sir C.V Raman from among us? These are the significant questions that need to be addressed by the government in order to meet the future challenges in research. As per latest available figures, India spends less than one per cent of its GDP on research and development activities while countries like the US, China, Israel, and Korea spend 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent  (Figure-1).

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