Manipal plans three more colleges

Manipal University, one of India's largest private universities, will invest Rs 180 crore to set up two engineering colleges and one medical college in the states of Jharkhand, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It has been invited by the governments of Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to start engineering and medical colleges for them.

While the Jharkhand and Rajasthan governments have committed to provide land at a subsidised rate to the university to establish an engineering college for them, the Andaman and Nicobar government has said it will lease its only government hospital "" G B Pant Hospital located at Port blair "" to the university for its students, once the medical college comes in place.

G B Pant Hospital, is a 412-bed lone-referral hospital for the entire Union Territory of A&N Islands.

"Manipal university is renowned for its engineering and medical courses worldwide and now the government too has realised it. The discussions are in the preliminary stage so far as we still need to get clearance from the authorities involved to establish the college and start the programmes," said a senior professor from the university.

While the university's trust will fund its new ventures, it could also raise money through FIIs if need be. "If we need more money to invest on the campuses, we will raise it through FIIs," added the professor.

Manipal University, which started with Kasturba Medical College, in Mangalore in 1953, today has 23 professional colleges and students from 51 countries taking professional training in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, engineering, management, hotel administration, law and the arts and sciences on its campuses in Sikkim, Mangalore, Nepal, Malaysia and Dubai.

The Manipal University earns around Rs 250 crore a year and dedicates 15 per cent of the revenue earned to facilitate research activities besides encouraging faculty and students, through various incentives, to take up research.

The university is also looking at setting up a medical and engineering college in Mauritius. It is exploring opportunities to have a twinning (a course pursued partly in the parent college and partly in a foreign college) with other universities worldwide.