Govt to re-introduce bill for national database of academic

A bill seeking to establish a national database of academic awards in electronic format will be re-introduced in the Budget Session of Parliament with certain amendments like eliminating the role of any agent to safeguard students' interest.
HRD Ministry would also be piloting some other bills including a one for setting up of a central university at Motihari in Bihar apart from the one at Gaya.
The National Academic Depository Bill, which had lapsed with the end of the 15th Lok Sabha, seeks to establish a national database of academic awards in electronic format, which can be verified and authenticated.

The central government will appoint a depository as the National Academic Depository to establish and maintain the national database.
The role of the private academic depository agents to assist in providing services is being done away with. Under the fresh legislation, government entities will be engaged for lodging of academic awards to ensure efficiency.
A Parliamentary Panel, which had studied the bill, had recommended that regulatory bodies such as UGC, AICTE and CBSE could also function as such agents.

The proposed legislation will help the administration to check forged and fake mark-sheets and certificates and do away with the bother of spoilage of certificates and attestation.

Officials were also hopeful of passage of enabling legislations to help students of School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Bhopal and Vijayawada as well as students of IIIT D&M Kancheepuramget get their degrees.
Most of these proposed legislations had lapsed with the end of the 15th Lok Sabha.
The Ministry would also be seeking amendments to some central laws for establishment of institutes such as IIT, IIM and central university in Andhra Pradesh following the creation of Telengana.
The Ministry would be seeking the approval of the Union Cabinet soon for passage of these legislations.