| Twenty new IIITs likely to come up with larger private investment | |
| Press Trust Of India / New Delhi June 15, 2009, 0:40 IST | |
The 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) may come up with larger investment from the private sector and could introduce performance-based salary package for teachers to ensure quality, if a proposal of National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) in this regard is accepted by the government.
These new institutes will be set up in private-public partnership (PPP) mode and the software exporters body — Nasscom — has prepared a Detailed Project Report for the purpose.
Nasscom has proposed that the IIITs be set up with an initial investment of Rs 30 crore, of which the government's share should not exceed Rs 14.9 crore while the share of partnering companies should not be less than Rs 15.1 crore.
“A series of meetings have been held on the issue of finalising the PPP model for the IIITs. The final decision will be taken within a month's time after which the institutes will be set up,” a senior HRD ministry official said.
Nasscom has also proposed that salary of faculty be linked to their output and the institutions have provisions of differential salary package.
As per the proposal, the IIITs will be autonomous degree awarding institutions. Each institute will have its own Board of Governors comprising 13 members, including one representative from the government.
The government will give a loan of Rs 100 crore to each institute with five years moratorium period and repayable within ten years time, Nasscom Vice-President Rajdeep Sehrawat said.
Representatives from private sector had expressed concern over audit to be conducted by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). They are in favour of audit to be conducted by private chartered accountants.
As per the government's plans, 20 new IIITs will be set up across the country in the Eleventh Plan period. Currently, there are four IIITs in the country. In north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir, where there are not enough industries, the government will bear the full establishment cost.
The IIIT, for which land will be provided by the states, will spread over 50 acres of area and have completely integrated campus with science and technology parks, he said.
Each institute will specialise on specific area of Information Technology. Each IIIT will be a centre of excellence in that domain. Nasscom has suggested that the institutes be set up in cities having modern amenities.
The IIITs will offer under-graduate, masters and PhD programmes. Each institute will have an intake capacity of about 1,000 students within a period of six to seven years of their functioning, he said.
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