UGC asks HEIs to plan Amrit Udyan visits through 15 September

The University Grants Commission has asked Higher Education Institutions to plan excursion and educational tours to Amrit Udyan at Rashtrapati Bhavan while the Summer Annuals garden remains open to the public. Secretary Prof. Shyama Rath issued D.O. No. 247/2025(CPP-II)(C.168358) dated 03 September 2026 on the subject Visit of Students/Faculties of HEIs to Amrit Udyan at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The letter encloses an earlier Ministry of Education communication and a President's Secretariat garden note.

Amrit Udyan is open for the Summer Annuals from 16 August 2026 to 15 September 2026, from 10 AM to 6 PM, except on Mondays. Last entry is at 5 PM on the enclosed Ministry note. The garden was also opened exclusively for teachers on 05 September 2026, Teachers Day. Bookings are online on the Rashtrapati Bhavan website https://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in through the Amrit Udyan link under the Visit tab. HEIs facing booking issues may write to udyanutsav-rb@rb.nic.in as printed in the UGC letter.

Visit window, teachers day and booking channel

The public window runs through 15 September 2026. That leaves a short stretch after the 03 September UGC letter for campuses still planning trips. The UGC text asks all HEIs to organise larger student and faculty participation during the opening period. It does not create a separate UGC booking portal. The booking surface named in the letter is the Rashtrapati Bhavan site above.

The exclusive teachers day on 05 September 2026 sits inside the same Summer Annuals calendar. Sports persons had a separate exclusive day on 29 August 2026 under the President's Secretariat note. Those special-category days do not extend the public closing date past 15 September 2026. Campuses that missed the teachers-only day can still book ordinary public slots for students and faculties on remaining open days before the garden closes.

The enclosed Ministry of Education D.O. from Joint Secretary (Adm.) Syed Eikram Rizwi, dated 17 August 2026, asked Vice-Chancellors and Directors of Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions to push the same excursion message. The UGC 03 September letter widens that ask across HEIs under its communication chain. Treat both files as coordination letters, not as admission or examination notices.

What campuses should do before 15 September

Institutions should designate a trip coordinator, check open days on the Rashtrapati Bhavan calendar (Mondays closed), book online early enough for group sizes, and carry the confirmation the booking flow issues. Use only https://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in for slots. For clarifications, the printed mail is udyanutsav-rb@rb.nic.in. Do not treat third-party tour packages that omit the official booking path as UGC-authorised entry.

The UGC letterhead lists Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, with phones 011-23236288 / 23239337 and email secy.ugc@nic.in. Those contacts are for the Commission letter, not for garden gate passes. Garden logistics stay with the Rashtrapati Bhavan Visit tab and the udyanutsav mailbox.

Keep this story separate from the National Teachers Awards ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan on 05 September 2026. Amrit Udyan is the garden visit track through 15 September 2026. The awards ceremony is a different Teachers Day programme. Campuses chasing both should diary the garden closing date and the booking URL without mixing the two event clocks.

D.O. No. 247/2025(CPP-II) dated 03 September 2026 is the UGC ask for HEI tours to Amrit Udyan. Public hours remain 10 AM to 6 PM except Mondays through 15 September 2026, with bookings on https://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in.