20 new IIITs on their way

We might see 20 more Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) apart from the four in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Allahabad and Kanchipuram which are already functioning. A conference will be held today where state chief ministers will discuss the matter, reported Rediff Get Ahead.

Fifteen states have already sent their proposals to the Human Resource Development ministry for setting up IIITs. Approval has already been given to Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura to set up an institute each. The remaining states might get the approval in today's meeting.

According to HRD minister, Kapil Sibal who is chairing the meeting, predicts a great demand for IT experts, as a consequence of the new national telecom policy approved last week. He feels that the new institutes would help to produce enough manpower to meet this demand. (Read more)

The Centre has reserved Rs 2,558 crores for establishing new IIITs under the PPP (public-private participation) model where the private parties are required to contribute just 15 per cent share, while the Centre will give 50 per cent, and the remaining 35% will be pitched in by the state governments along with the allocation of 50-100 acres of land. The HRD Ministry estimates that each of the new IIIT would cost Rs 128 crores to the Centre.

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