Icfai identifies land for university project

Hyderabad-based Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (Icfai), which is aiming to set up a multi-disciplinary university in Orissa at an investment of Rs 150-200 crore, has identified 53 acres of land for the university.

The land has been identified close to Sum Hospital on the outskirts of the city. Out of the total land area of 53 acres, Icfai has got 11 acres of land registered for the university project.

Addressing media persons here, Samd Noorus, member (New Initiatives Group) of Icfai said, “Icfai has identified 53 acres of land for the university in Orissa. We have registered 11 acres of land and an additional 21 acres would be registered by the end of this month.” Icfai had inked a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Orissa government in March 2007 for setting up of a university. The university project in Orissa has been marred by delay as the Icfai Private University Bill is yet to be introduced in the state legislative assembly.

The Icfai Private University Bill would be introduced soon in the forthcoming session of the Orissa legislative assembly, claimed Noorus.

Icfai had earlier announced that its proposed university in Orissa would be functional eighteen months after the Icfai Private University Bill became an Act.

The Icfai University in Orissa would have no management quota, NRI quota or capitation fee. The university would have strength of about 1,500 students and offer courses in various disciplines like engineering, management, law, science and humanities.

Apart from Orissa, Icfai is also setting up universities in other states across the country. States like Uttaranchal, Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Jharkhand have passed the legislations facilitating the establishment of Icfai universities.

The proposed Icfai universities in Uttaranchal and Tripura have received the approval of the University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2 (f) of the UGC Act.

Other states like Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have already issued letters of intent to Icfai for setting up universities.