Union Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to IISER in Odisha (Lead, with corrections)

The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its ex-post facto approval to formation of the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) at Berhampur in Odisha, and the start of its 2016-17 academic session from August 1.

The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The Cabinet meeting gave its ex-post facto approval for formation of an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Berhampur Society, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860," said a cabinet communique.

The cabinet also approved setting up and operationalisation of the institute in a transit/temporary campus from academic year 2016-17 for initial three years (2016-19), involving a cost of Rs 152.79 crore.

The cabinet also approved accepting land, free of cost, from the Odisha government for the institute and cleared creation of post of director of the institute in the pay scale of Rs.80,000 (fixed).

The cabinet also approved introduction of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 in parliament for inclusion of the IISER at Tirupati and Berhampur in the second schedule of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Act, 2007.

Declared as Institutes of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education & Research (NITSER) Act, 2012, the institutes are envisaged to carry out research in frontier areas of science and provide quality science education at the under-graduate and post-graduate levels.

Earlier, there were only five IISERs -- at Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram.

Later, the Modi government started an IISER at Tirupati in 2015.

--IANS

sk/ps/vd