Methodology and Guideline Document

1. Methodology to be followed for AQIS Assessment

The proposals under AQIS are to be uploaded online using following
guidelines:
I. Read overview about schemes at link >https://www.aicte-india.org/schemes.
II. Log in to AICTE web portal using Institute User Id and password.
III. Fill the respective AQIS proposal as per guidelines of scheme.
IV. Also, enter the data on web portal about the grants received in the past.
V. Press “Submit” button. No changes in the application are possible after this.
VI. In some cases the proposals are invited offline and are to be submitted
in hard copy form as per details and the form is available on AICTE website.
2. The submitted AQIS application would be forwarded online to the empanelled
experts.
3. Each proposal will be examined separately by three experts as per the
guidelines of the scheme.
4.
Each proposal submitted online shall carry marks as per the particular scheme
guidelines and criteria for evaluation and would be examined by three
examiners online. Following general criteria would be followed for the marking
and qualifying of the proposal until and unless specified separately.

Qualifying Criteria for Grant

I. Average of three experts should be greater than or equal to 60% for qualifying
the proposal.
II. Final qualifying list will be prepared as per the total number of sanctioned
projects for the particular scheme of that year.
III. If qualified, the experts recommended amount for the grant to be
released would be averaged.
IV. The equipment under non-recurring head are to be recommended at least by
two experts. The quantity of equipment and cost of the equipment
recommended by these experts would be averaged for final
recommendations.
V. The proposed activities under recurring head are to be recommended at
least by two experts. The type, quantity and expenditure under proposed
activity recommended by these experts would be averaged for final
recommendations.
VI. The outcome of the expert recommendations would be verified by a
central committee of experts before release of the grant.

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 Evaluation for each scheme will be done as per the scheme document
guideline either online / offline mode.
In all schemes Co-PI is a must.

2. General Guidelines
1 The total grant per institution at a time should not exceed Rs.25 lacs
applicable only for RPS and MODROB.
2 The project must be initiated within three months of receipt of the funds. An
activity register is to be maintained for listing the date and respective activity.
It must be ensured that projects are completed within the specified period of
time.
3 State/Central Government procedures should be adopted for procuring
equipment/services. Equipment/services recommended by the council alone
should be procured. Equipment purchased should be engraved/ superscripted
with AICTE Project Number.
4 A stock register of equipment’s should be maintained for purchases made out
of the project grant for likely verification by AICTE appointed experts at any
time. List of assets procured from funds provided by AICTE should be
submitted to the Council every year.
5 Progress reports should be submitted regularly to AICTE at specified intervals
as per the requirement of the scheme.
6 The Final audited UC should be submitted immediately after the completion of
the project along with Progress Report and the details of the assets thus
created/procured out of the grant-in-aid as per GFR-19 .Utilization certificate
and statement of accounts in prescribed proforma shall be duly audited by a
Chartered accountant, in the case of private institution and by the finance
officer/account officer in respect of government/government-aided institutions
7 It may be noted that If AICTE does not receive the Utilization certificate
within one month from the date of completion of the project or earlier, then
AICTE will be at liberty to recover the entire amount of the grant including the
interest thereon, in a manner it finds proper. Without submitting the projects
closure certificate, the department shall not be eligible for further funding.
8 The amount of interest accrued along with the grant disbursed should not
exceed the total grant sanctioned for the project. The institute receiving the
grant should reflect the same in the audited statement of accounts/ utilization
certificate and may either refund the interest amount to AICTE or AICTE
should adjust the same in the next instalment of grant before releasing.
9 Any unspent balance from the amount sanctioned on the completion of the
tenure of the project must be surrendered to AICTE within one month by
means of RTGS payable to the Member Secretary, All India Council for
Technical Education.

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 Account No : 55113199952
Name of the Account Holder :- Member Secretary, AICTE, New Delhi
Bank Name :- State Bank of India
Branch Name:- Shashtri Bhawan, New Delhi
IFSC Code:- SBIN0050203
10 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India/ AICTE at their discretion shall
have the right of access to the books of accounts of the Institute in respect of
the grant received from AICTE. The Institute must, therefore, maintain
separate record of expenditure and audited accounts for the project.
11 The Institution, which has availed the grant, shall observe all financial norms
and guidelines as prescribed by the AICTE/GOI from time to time.
12 Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) at Institutional level has to be
constituted by the
Coordinator of the Project for reviewing the progress of the project from time
to time and submit annual progress report.
13 The composition of PMC should be as follows (in case specific instructions are
not issued for any specific scheme:
(I) Director/Principal/Dean of the Institution, College and University respectively
(Chairman of the Committee).
(II) Dean (Academic affairs/Research)
(III) Coordinator of the Project (Convener/Secretary)/ Head of the Department.
(IV) An external expert member of the area of specialization of the project.

14 The constitution of PMC will be sent to the Council for record. The general
terms of the reference of PMC are as follows:

(I) PMC should meet from time to time as required but at least once in a year.
The minutes of the meeting should be recorded and submitted to the Council.
(II) PMC shall advise on the proper utilization of the funds under the project and
would ensure proper implementation of the scheme as per the objectives of
the project.
15 As per Government of India’s Decision (7) b under Rule 149(3), assets
created/procured out
of the project grant should be submitted to the funding agency. The assets
thus
Created/procured out of the grant should be maintained and submitted to
AICTE, along with the project completion report.
The complete equipment procured out of the grant released will be declared
on institute website as well as affiliated university website.
16 Each Project sanctioned by AICTE is assigned a specific File No.All
Correspondence addressed to AICTE regarding the Project must invariably

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 quote this number along with the year in which the Project was sanctioned
and should be addressed to the Bureau Head.
17 The AICTE may withdraw the award due to any reason, it thinks appropriate,
including the following :

(I) If the progress is not adequate during Annual Appraisal;

(II) If the scheme is not initiated or is deviating from approved project plan.
(III) In case of any financial irregularity;

18 Any expenditure incurred prior to the issuance of the approval letter and after
the expiry of tenure of the project is not allowed for any adjustment in the
grant-in-aid
19 The grant-in-aid released for a project cannot be spent on creating
infrastructural facilities such as construction of roads, purchase of vehicles,
air-conditioning, etc.
20 The assets acquired out of the grant-in-aid shall be the property of the
Institute. No assets acquired out of the grant-in-aid shall be disposed off
without the permission of the Council.
21 The Council shall not provide any maintenance grant-in-aid after the expiry of
the
incubation period for the program
22 No hiring of any manpower for the project handling is allowed.
23 In case of a project proposal recommended for funding by the expert
committee, the institute shall upload relevant documents justifying the self
declared credentials of the Coordinator/ Principle Investigator/ Department/
Institute/ Project/ NBA Accreditation, etc. based on which the project proposal
is recommended in respect of the project on the AICTE web portal.
24 In case, at any point of time it is found that information provided in the
proposal is false or incorrect, AICTE will be at liberty to withdraw the grant
given to the Institute/ University Department and it shall be liable to refund
the entire amount of the grant with interest thereon and also liable for any
other action that AICTE may deem fit. AICTE may not consider future
proposals of Institute/ University Department in this circumstance.
25 The actual release of grants will be subject to availability of funds.

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