Cabinet approves withdrawal of Nalanda Amendment Bill, 2013

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to withdraw the Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 pending in the Rajya Sabha, an official statement said.

The bill, introduced in the Parliament in 2013, had then been referred to the Standing Committee on External Affairs which submitted its report in the same year.

However, before the bill could be passed in 2014, the Parliament was prorogued.

"The present proposal is for moving a motion in Rajya Sabha withdrawing the Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013, introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 26, 2013, to amend certain existing provisions of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 and add some new provisions," the statement said.

"The Amendment Bill will need to be discussed with the current Governing Board of Nalanda University before a final decision could be taken on going ahead with the proposed amendments.

"Further, the current Governing Board may also look into the entire Nalanda University Act, 2010 afresh and suggest amendments/additions wherever necessary," it said.

The Nalanda University was established on the basis of a Joint Press Statement at the fourth East Asia Summit held in Thailand in October 2009, which supported its establishment as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution.

Subsequently, the Nalanda University Act, 2010 was passed by the Parliament and came into effect from November 25, 2010.

Nobel laureate Amartya sen was the first Chancellor of the university but resigned in 2015 citing differences with the Narendra Modi government. After him former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo took over the reins. Yeo was replaced by Vijay Bhatkar, who is the current incumbent.

--IANS

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