Older IITs Propose Investment of Rs. 21,870 Crore to Reach Global Standards

In order to develop word class standards and reach the top 100 list of global university rankings, seven of the older IITs have asked the AICTE to release Rs.21,870 crore. The target of these elite institutions is to reach the list of top 100 global universities by 2018 and top 50 list by 2020.

The proposal will be assessed by AICTE and based on their recommendations the HRD Ministry will take the final decision regarding releasing of funds.

According to an official, the amount proposed by the IITs is too big for to get the government’s approval. The official added that the AICTE will ensure that a reasonable budget is proposed for the purpose.

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Project Vishwajeet was also initiated by the HRD Ministry to push the IITs amongst the top global institutes of the world. The IITs have been asked to submit their proposals regarding the same.

Separate grants have been reserved by the ministry over a period of four years till 2020. These grants will be provided to establish world-class infrastructure. Another target will be to raise a corpus fund of Rs.500 crore by 2018. This target will be increased to Rs.1,000 crore by 2021 and will be achieved through CSR, corporate donations and alumni contributions.

An investment of Rs.21,870 crore was sought by the directors of IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Mumbai, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati during a meeting with HRD ministry officials in October 2016.

Following are the funds requested by IITs:

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Project Vishwajeet and plans associated to it were approved by the IIT Council on August 24, 2016. These included hiring foreign faculty to fill up the 20% vacancies, attracting international students at UG, allowing off-campus Ph.D. students and PG level and improving student-faculty ratio.