New Delhi, July 17
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are on the list of the states where the Centre will be setting up new IITs. The approval for the new IITs was given by the Union Cabinet at its meeting here today.
At the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Cabinet approved the setting up of eight IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and at Indore in Madhya Pradesh at a cost of Rs 6,080 crore (Rs 760 crore per IIT) for six years’ period.
The decision is aimed at providing quality education to more students as now hardly 2 per cent of three lakh students, who appear for joint entrance test of IITs, can get admissions in these institutes.
It will also address state/region-specific technology-related problems of states/UTs situated in the IITs’ “zones”.
The Cabinet also gave approval for formation of societies consequently for creating legal entities for the new IITs.
The approval has been given for the creation of one post each of director and registrar in the eight IITs, as well as for the creation of 30 faculty posts per year in the first three years and granting pay scale of Rs 26,000 per month (fixed) to each director in order to operationalise these institutions.
A decision was also taken for in-principle approval for taking over the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, and its conversion into an IIT.
In another decision, the Cabinet cleared the creation of project cells to expedite work in respect of six AIIMS-like institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
A decision was taken to upgrade and strengthen 4,000-km of single, intermediate and two-lane national highways on a BOT (toll) basis and that of 1,000 km of national highways on a BOT (annuity) mode under National Highways Development Project, Phase-IVA, at an estimated cost of Rs 6,950 crore.
