India, July 28 -- Maharashtra's school education department has raised concerns about the allocation to the state under the central government's Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, pointing out that while Maharashtra accounts for 8.61% of the country's total student population, it receives only 3.06% of the scheme's budget. According to officials, the allocation gap is over Rs.4,900 crore.

The Samagra Shiksha budget for 2025-26 is Rs.87,367 crore, of which Maharashtra has been allocated only Rs.2,673 crore despite having over 100,000 schools, more than 75,00,000 teachers, and over 21 million students. "If allocations are made based on the size of the educational system, Maharashtra should get 8.61%, which works out to around Rs.7,522 crore compared...