Two more IITs in the offing
The HRD ministry plans to set up two new IITs in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh this year, reports Chetan Chauhan.
In a year of political expediency for the UPA government, the HRD ministry plans to set up two new IITs in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh this year. It also wants IITs to take in more OBC students.
At a meeting with IIT directors on Thursday, the HRD ministry told IIT directors about
the plan.
The ministry has appointed IIT-Roorkee as the mentor institution for IIT-Himachal and IIT-Mumbai for the IIT in MP. However, IIT-Mumbai has opposed the idea saying it is already a mentor for the proposed IIT in Gujarat.
“We are trying to sort out the problem,” a ministry official said.
If the plan works, it would create history, with the opening of eight new IITs in a year. The ministry had earlier decided to set up six new IITs - in Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Orissa – in makeshift campuses.
Ministry officials said the new campus in Himachal might come up in Hamirpur, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s home district.
In Madhya Pradesh, the government is considering a location near either Bhopal or Indore.