Bill to set up central Sanskrit universities introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill to set up central Sanskrit universities was introduced in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The bill, moved by Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', seeks to convert three Sanskrit deemed universities presently functioning in the country into central universities.

The three deemed universities are Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and the Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in New Delhi and the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati.

While the Sansthan dates back to 1970, Lal Bahadur Shastri Rsahtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth was set up in 1962. The Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati came up in 1961. All three were granted deemed university status by the UGC later.

Granting of central university status to the three has been a long-standing demand from Sanskrit scholars. It will be a shot in the arm for the institutions, which being deemed-to-be universities, do not have powers to grant affiliation to colleges and attract more students from within India and abroad.