Rs 67.75 cr sanctioned for Inter Faith Studies centre at Guru Nanak Dev University: Harsimrat

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has sanctioned over Rs 67 crore for setting up of the Centre for Inter Faith Studies at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Wednesday.

After a meeting with representatives of various ministries held at the national capital to oversee the implementation of their action plans for celebrating the 550th'Parkash Purab' celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, the officials of the HRD Ministry briefed me that Rs 67.75 crore will be sanctioned in the first phase of the project, she said.

The Union Food Processing Industries minister said the HRD Ministry has been asked to communicate the timeline for disbursing the grant and schedule for the inaugural ceremony of the Inter Faith Studies Centre at the varsity.

In a statement issued here, Badal said she has also been apprised that the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, had agreed to set up a chair on Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith, and provide the funding for 85 per cent of the project cost.

I was further apprised that the Ministry of External Affairs was also in the process of finalising a university in Canada for the same purpose and that talks were on with Concordia University, Montreal, she said.

At the meeting, the Union minister said, she also suggested that the University Grants Commission (UGC) could mobilise other universities, government or private, for holding commemorative events in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Nanded.

Badal said she also suggested that possibilities may be explored for holding a seminar in Delhi with the combined efforts of Guru Nanak Dev University, SGPC and the HRD Ministry.

The Union minister said she was also apprised that an international level seminar on Guru Nanak Dev was proposed in February 2020, wherein 550 scholars from all over the world will be invited.