IITs, IIMs in all states: President

President Pranab Mukherjee Monday said the government will set up IITs and IIMs in every state of the country, and will also formulate a national education policy to meet the challenges posed by lack of quality, research and innovation in Indian educational institutions.

"We will set up IITs and IIMs in every state. In order to empower school teachers and students, a national e-library will be established," Mukherjee said while addressing the joint session of both houses of parliament.

"It (government) will formulate a National Education Policy aimed at meeting the challenges posed by lack of quality, research and innovation in our educational institutions," he added.

At present, there are 16 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), one each in Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Mandi (Himachal Pradesh), Delhi, Indore, Kharagpur, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Madras, Gandhinagar, Patna, Roorkee, Ropar (Punjab), (Banaras Hindu University) Varanasi, Hyderabad, and Guwahati.

While the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), 13 in total, are located in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode (Kerala), Shillong, Rohtak (Haryana), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Ranchi, Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), Kashipur (Uttarakhand) and Udaipur.

The president added that the government will also set up Massive Open Online Courses and virtual classrooms.

Calling India the world's oldest civilisation and the country with the largest youth population, Mukherjee said: "We must equip and nurture our youth with the right kind of education, skill-set and opportunity to reap this demographic dividend. My government will strive to transition from youth development to youth-led development."

"With the motto of "Har Haath Ko Hunar", my government will strive to break the barriers between formal education and skill development, and put in place a mechanism to give academic equivalence to vocational qualifications.

"With the goal of Skilled India, my government will also launch a National Multi-skill Mission," he said as he underlined the Narendra Modi's government's agenda in the area of skill development.

Mukherjee stated that the government would build "world class research centres in the fields of nanotechnology, material sciences, thorium technology, brain research, stem cells."

"The government will also establish institutes of Technology for Rural Development and a Central University of Himalayan Studies," he added.