IIT-Kharagpur hopes to get Cabinet nod for medical school

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-K) might finally get a go ahead with its plans to set up a medical school and hospital.Since it signed a $50-million MoU with the University of California, San Diego, last year to set up a 750-bed state-of-the-art hospital and research centre at the IIT, the institute had been pursuing the case with the Union HRD Ministry.

“We are talking to the health ministry. The IIT-K proposal will be presented before the Cabinet for the approval of an amendment to the IIT statute. It could take 2-3 months,” said Pratima Dikshit, director of technical education, Union HRD ministry.

“We are waiting for the permission from the central government. Union HRD Minister, Kapil Sibal, is very keen on this. Now, it will go to the Union Cabinet for its approval,” said AK Majumdar, deputy director of IIT-K.

The existing IIT Act that governs the Indian Institutes of Technology does not allow the institutes to branch out into other streams. “The Act has to be amended by Parliament, which we hope, will be done at the earliest,” said Majumdar.

“The cost of the project has gone up in the past one year but we are yet to estimate how much it would cost us now.” He said the institute would explore the possibilities of building the proposed medical school on a public-private partnership, once it gets the ministry nod. “If we get the ministry’s approval, it will be applicable to all IITs,” he said.

E-mails sent to the HRD Minister and IIT Kharagpur director Damodar Acharya did not elicit any response.

IIT-K started the School of Medical Science & Technology in its Golden Jubilee year in 2001. Its objective was to provide a platform for interdisciplinary teaching and research in medical science and technology.

“We are already doing some work in the field of medical science and technology. The World Health Organisation has also cited some of our works,” said Majumdar.

It may be mentioned that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has expanded beyond its core area of science and technology into fields like economics, philosophy, political science and management.