The Delhi University Executive Council on Thursday approved a series of major academic and infrastructure decisions, including the establishment of a Centre for Odia Studies and the renaming of the renovated Arts Faculty convention hall as Vande Mataram Hall.
The council also confirmed that Vice President CP Radhakrishnan will be the chief guest at DU’s 102nd convocation on February 28, 2026. The announcement was made during the 1280th meeting of the EC, chaired by Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh.
The Vice President will also visit DU earlier on January 30 to attend a programme on de-addiction awareness.
The Vice Chancellor told the council that construction and renovation projects worth nearly Rs 2,000 crore were progressing rapidly across the university.
He said most of these works would be completed soon. The EC unanimously agreed to his proposal to rename the renovated convention hall at the Arts Faculty as Vande Mataram Hall. The EC meeting also cleared the long-pending proposal to set up a Centre for Odia Studies.
The centre will function under the Faculty of Arts. VC Singh said the centre will help students and researchers understand Odia’s language, literature, civilisation, and traditions in both classical and contemporary contexts. He said the centre will also support curriculum design, academic programmes and doctoral studies and will begin a two-year MA programme in Odia.
He said the university will later decide on the structure of a one-year postgraduate programme under NEP 2020. The centre will also offer certificate and diploma courses and introduce a generic elective in Odia under the undergraduate curriculum. The council also cleared the proposal of the building committee to create a broadcasting studio near the Vice-Regal Lodge at a cost of Rs 2,32,08,537.
Financial approvals formed a major part of the meeting. The EC accepted the recommendations of the finance committee, which met on December 9.
After revision, the budget estimate for 2025-26 has been reduced from Rs 1664.74 crore to Rs 1312.33 crore. The budget estimate for 2026-27 has been set at Rs 1651.42 crore. Another important decision concerned the unused land in DU’s Dhaka complex.
The university proposed using 3.7 acres of vacant land for a girls’ hostel. The land in the Dhaka complex had been allotted in 1975 to the Delhi School of Social Work, the School of Correspondence Courses (now SOL) and the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI). The condition at the time was that construction must begin within three years, failing which possession could be reviewed. SOL used the full land allotted to it, while VPCI used only one acre and left two acres unused. DSSW also has unused land.
Officials said the empty land lies next to the existing girls’ hostel. The new proposal aims to use the combined 3.7 acres from VPCI and DSSW for a larger and safer girls’ hostel facility. The Vice Chancellor also informed the council that DU will host a Literature Festival from February 12 to 14, 2026. He said the university intends to make it one of the best literary events in the country.
