Higher education gets boost, IITs, NITs bag Rs.21 billion

September 29th, 2009 WARANGAL - After serving as a premier engineering school for 50 years, the National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Warangal is set to become a full-fledged university that will offer a host of courses, including medicine, law as well as postgraduate degrees in humanities and business economics. The aim is to become a university the way the human resource development (HRD) ministry has indicated, Y.V.

September 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), which paves the way for admission to top technology institutions like the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), will be held on April 25 next year. The exam would be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The union cabinet Thursday decided to set up 10 new National Institutes of Technology (NITs), six of which will come up in northeastern states to facilitate quality technical and engineering education in the region. These new NITs will be established in Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Goa, Delhi, Pudducherry and Uttarakhand.

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Union Cabinet today approved setting up of new National Institutes of Technology (NITs), six of them in the northeast. These new NITs will be established in Manipur; Meghalaya; Mizoram; Nagaland; Goa (which will also cater to UTs of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshdweep); Pudducherry (which will also cater to Andaman and Nicobar Islands); Sikkim; Delhi (which will also cater to Chandigarh) and Uttrakhand.

September 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Unlike the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), existing Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) won't have much of a role in adopting and nurturing upcoming IIMs as they don't have much resources. They will have limited role in mentoring, Higher Education Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development R.P.

August 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday called on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to create quality faculties in the field of technical education to match the growing demands. Speaking at the Convocation of IIT-Delhi, Sibal said despite growth in number of technical institutions, there had not been proportionate increase in quality graduates in the country.

July 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal will inaugurate a one-day meeting of principal secretaries/secretaries of higher education and technical education of State Governments and Union Territories here today. This annual conference has on its agenda different subjects within higher and technical education such as the National Mission of Education through ICT and matters related to polytechnics under coordinated action for skill development.

July 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Thursday said India needs to have more institutions of higher education. "Union Minister Kapil Sibal made a spirited speech defending higher education in the country in the parliament.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said her ministry would look at providing infrastructure and land for setting up Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). "We might even look at building IITs in the future," Banerjee told the Lok Sabha in a discussion on the railway budget.

July 6th, 2009 New Delhi, July (IANS) India Monday pegged its expenditure outlay at Rs.44,528 crore (Rs.445.28 billion) for both school and higher education which is around 20 percent more than the last fiscal. According to the union budget 2009-10 proposals, while school education gets over Rs.29,099 crore (Rs.290.99 billion), the higher education bags Rs.15,429 crore (Rs.154.29 billion).

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that the provisions for the Scheme 'Mission in Education through ICT' has been substantially increased to Rs. 900 crore. Presenting the Union Budget proposals for the year 2009-10 in Lok Sabha, he said: "Similarly, for establishment and up-gradation for Polytechnics under the Skill Development Mission has been increased to Rs.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Keeping its promise to boost higher education in India, the union budget 2009-10 Monday allocated the sector over Rs.40 billion more than the last fiscal, including a package of over Rs.10 billion for the implementation of quota for other backward castes (OBCs). The higher education budget for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs.15,429 crore (Rs.154.29 billion) including a planned allocation of Rs.9,600 crore.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The boy-girl student ratio in the undergraduate courses at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) may soon see a positive turn. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal Wednesday directed the IITs to admit more female students.

June 25th, 2009 AGARTALA - The central government has decided to continue reservation of seats for tribal and other backward community students in the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here after a high court ruling slashed the quota system for the institute, a state minister said Thursday. The decision was taken at a meeting in New Delhi Wednesday between union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal and Tripura's Higher Education Minister Anil Sarkar.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will commence academic sessions in 2009-10, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting the interim budget in the Lok Sabha Monday. An ordinance was promulgated for establishing 15 central universities and in addition to this, six new IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat started functioning in 2008-09, he said.