Lok Sabha passes bill to give 5 IIITs ‘national importance’ tag, power to grant degrees

The 5 institutes covered under the IIIT (Amendment) Bill are those in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur.

IIIT Bhagalpur is one of the five institutes that is set to get the 'national importance' tag | Photo: iiitbh.ac.in

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Friday passed the Indian Institute of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, which will declare five IIITs established under public-private partnership (PPP) model as ‘institutes of national importance’. This will give these institutes the power to grant degrees.

The five IIITs are those in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala, and Raichur. At present these institutes are registered as societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and do not have the power to grant degrees or diplomas.

Once the bill is passed into law, the institutes will be able to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Master of Technology (M.Tech.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.

Impact of the move

The bill, which amends the IIIT Act, 2014, and the IIIT (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017, was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. According to the government, the bill will enable the IIITs to attract enough students required to develop a strong research base in the field of information technology in India.

Currently, of the 25 IIITs in India, 20 are established under the PPP model. Fifteen of these already have degree-granting authority under the IIIT PPP Act, 2017. Once the amendment bill becomes an Act, the total number of private institutes that have degree-granting power will reach 20.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, the minister said a “beautiful” model is being developed for the first time with the participation of the states, the Centre and industries, which will help impart training to students.

After the passage of the bill, he congratulated the institutes and its faculty members and extended good wishes for their success.

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इस अवसर पर मैं आईआईआईटी (IIITs) सूरत, भोपाल, भागलपुर, अगरतला तथा रायचूर को बधाई देता हूं और आशा करता हूं कि भविष्य में ये सभी संस्थान अपनी नवाचार युक्त और गुणवत्ता परक शिक्षा के माध्यम से विश्व के शीर्ष संस्थानों में शामिल होंगे ।#Budget2020#LokSabha

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) March 20, 2020