DARBHANGA, Jan. 29 -- Lalit Narayan Mithila University (LNMU) presented a heavily deficit budget at its annual senate meeting, with the university's estimated expenditure far exceeding its estimated income for the coming financial year 2026-27. As per the budget document placed before the senate on Wednesday, the university's total estimated income has been pegged at Rs.181.29 crore, while the projected expenditure stands at Rs.1,529.73 crore, resulting in a deficit of Rs.1,349 crore. The budget reveals that a major portion of expenditure is committed towards salary, pension, gratuity and other statutory liabilities, including payments arising out of court orders, leaving limited fiscal flexibility. Rising post-retirement benefits continue to place sustained pressure on the university's finances. In addition to fixed liabilities, allocations have been made for examination-related expenses, academic administration, university departments, constituent colleges and library requirements. The budget was tabled before the senate for discussion by finance officer and okayed by the House Chairing the meeting vice-chancellor Prof Sanjay Kumar Choudhary said the university is steadily moving towards becoming a multidisciplinary education and research institution in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He highlighted major academic and administrative achievements, including record enrolment of over 1.78 lakh students across UG and PG courses, award of 507 PhD degrees in the past year, adoption of SWAYAM, India's Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform, as the first university in Bihar, expansion of advanced research facilities, and the decision to launch of new programmes in forensic science, cyber skills and physical education. The Vice-Chancellor also noted significant progress in digital governance through the SAMARTH portal, successful conduct of CET-B.Ed. for sixth time in a row as nodal university, large-scale faculty appointments and promotions, and improved student services through online certification, grievance redressal and digital evaluation initiatives. However, some senate members raised voice against water logging on sprawling Raj ground, protection of rare trees on the campus and installation of statue of Maharani Kamsundri Devi, the last surviving queen of Darbhanga Raj, who passed away recently....