Bill to create 20 more IITs introduced in Parliament

A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha today seeking to establish 20 more Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and declare the four existing ones as ''institutions of national importance''.

The new IIITs would be set up as public-private partnerships, with the ministry for human resources development, the state governments where the new institutes se are to be established, and industry being partners, said HRD minister M M Pallam Raju while introducing the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill, 2013.

"The main objective in establishing IIITs is to set up a model of education which can produce world class human resource in the field of information technology," Raju said.

The bill seeks to give the IIITs administrative autonomy, and would confer the status of institutes of national importance on the existing IIITs at Gwalior, Allahabad, Jabalpur and Kancheepuram.

The establishment of each IIIT is expected cost Rs128 crore, with the centre bearing 50 per cent and the state government concerned 35 per cent. The remaining 15 per cent would be taken up by industry partners.

The union cabinet, while approving the legislation, had allowed state-owned public sector undertakings to become partners in establishment of IIITs which are currently categorised as deemed universities.