Centre approves Karnataka's proposal to set up IIIT at Dharwad

The ministry has asked state government to forward MoU & MoA

The Union ministry of human resources development (HRD Ministry) has approved 16 proposals from 15 states including Karnataka for setting up Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) under the public private partnership (PPP) model. The Karnataka government had proposed to set up the second IIIT campus at Dharwad and had sent a request to the HRD Ministry.

 

In her written reply to Lok Sabha, the Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani said today that the government of Karnataka has been requested to forward the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Association (MoA). The Site Selection Committee (SSC) has approved 61.06 acres of land at Thadasinakoppa village in Dharwad taluk and district for setting up the IIIT campus.

 

Incidentally, Karnataka is the first state in the country to set up a IIIT campus at Bangalore with industry participation in 1999.

 

Irani said, "The project of establishing 20 Indian Institute of Information Technology in PPP mode by the government is targetted to reach full capacity in nine years from 2011-12 to 2019-20."

 

Out of the 20, the Central government has approved establishment of 16 IIITs in PPP mode. The remaining IIITs would be approved as and when the state governments are able to identify land and the industry partners, she said in her written reply.

 

Besides Karnataka, other states like Gujarat (IIIT Vadodara), Kerala (IIIT Kottayam) have also been approved by the HRD ministry. IIIT Vadodara has started their academic session in 2013-14 with 60 students each in computer science and electronics and Communication at the temporary campus at DA-ICT, Gandhinagar. There is a proposal from Gujarat government for setting up second IIIT in PPP mode at Surat.

 

It may be noted that, in 2010, the Union Cabinet approved a scheme, based on PPP model, for setting up 20 new IIITs with an outlay of Rs 2,808.71 crore (Rs 2,558.71 crore for non-recurring, Rs 200 crore for recurring expenditure and Rs 50 crore for faculty development expenditure). The capital cost of each IIIT is Rs 128 crore to be contributed in the ratio of 50:35:15 by the Central government, the state government and the industry respectively (57.5:35:7.5 in case of North-Eastern Region). Concerned state governments will provide 50-100 acres of land, free of cost and encumbrances.

 

Four years ago, the Union government had sanctioned IIIT to Karnataka and asked the State government to find a suitable location for it. Initially, it was proposed to be set up under the Gulbarga University campus, which had provided space on its premises. However, the proposal was put in cold storage. Gulbarga University did not pursue the matter further and Karnataka University seized the opportunity and pressured authorities to establish IIIT in Dharwad, and offered the required land for the purpose. The Cabinet gave its nod to the proposal, and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had mentioned it in his first budget in June 2013 that it would be established in Dharwad. 

 

The major objective in establishing the IIITs is to set up a model of education which can produce best-in-class human resources in information technology (IT) and harnessing the multi-dimensional facets of IT in various domains. These institutions are conceived as self-sustaining, research-led institutions, contributing significantly to the global competitiveness of key sectors of the Indian economy and industry, with application of IT in selected domain areas.

 

According to the IIIT Bill, each IIIT would meet its entire operating expenditure on its own within five years of commencement out of students’ fees, research and other internal accruals. The scheme also provides for a faculty development programme for which a sum of Rs 50 crore has been earmarked.