Chandigarh, July 18 -- Panjab University (PU) will continue with its policy of creating 10% seats over and above the sanctioned number for each course for non-resident Indians NRIs and wards of NRIs for the upcoming 2025-26 session. This policy has been a point of contention, particularly after observations made by the Supreme Court regarding the broadening of the NRI quota. The University Grants Commission (UGC) also does not have a provision for reserving seats for wards of NRIs. The course-wise seat bifurcation of NRIs and foreign nationals has been uploaded by the dean of university instruction (DUI) for the 2025-26 session. As per PU's admission policy last year, 10% seats will be reserved for NRIs and wards of NRIs over and above the sanctioned strength. As many as 25% seats will also be created this way for foreign nationals. Further, for courses where the sanctioned intake of NRI students exceeds 10%, it will remain unchanged. Wards of NRIs include anyone who is a first degree blood relation with a non-resident India (NRI) - this includes spouse, children, paternal and maternal aunts and uncles, maternal and paternal grandparents and first-degree maternal and paternal cousins of the candidate. NRI candidates themselves must fulfil the criterion for status of NRI under the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the year in which he/she seeks admission. The top court in 2024 had dismissed a set of petitions challenging a Punjab and Haryana high court order that had quashed the Punjab government's move to broaden the NRI quota criteria. A bench led by former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had condemned the expansion of the NRI quota in Punjab's medical colleges, calling it a "fraud" that forces more meritorious students out of the admission process. The bench had said that such a broad interpretation of NRI eligibility, which even allowed distant relatives to qualify, amounted to a "money-spinning tactic" that undermines the integrity of the education system. Even the UGC doesn't have any provision for admission to wards of NRIs. There is a provision for foreign nationals, as per which 25% supernumerary seats over and above the total number of sanctioned seats in each UG/PG course are reserved for foreign nationals in PU as well. This includes anyone who holds a foreign passport. PU had sought legal opinion after the SC judgment but has now gone ahead with its admission policy from last year. Even as the admissions season for 2025-26 has just started, around 10 foreign nationals have already applied for admission in PU as per Dean International Students Kewal Krishan. Most of the students have applied from African countries including Angola, Ghana, Tanzania and Egypt. The admissions from Nepal and Bangladesh are yet to start coming but PU officials anticipate it will be done in the coming days. PU has reduced the fees for those coming from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries or from underdeveloped countries. The course fees has been reduced as much as 55% in some cases, while PU can also reduce fees further on a case-to-case basis as the university aims to bolster enrolment of international students. While PU has been improving in this regard recently, over the years it has suffered in various rankings for not having enough foreign students on campus. In 2024-25, there were 24 foreign national students and 59 students under the NRI and wards of NRI category in PU....