Education, Careers & Professional News
Karnataka all set to house its first IIT
Source
The Hindu
Date
2006-08-21
Information
The Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SACPM), which has over 30 distinguished scientists from all over the country, has recommended setting up three Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) including one in Karnataka. The Prime Minister`s scientific advisor C N R Rao has been pushing hard the plan to setup an IIT in Karnataka as there is only one IIT in the entire Southern India. C N R Rao is also the head of the standing council of IITs.
The Karnataka government has already submitted a proposal to the HRD ministry expressing its interest to setup an IIT in the state. If the HRD Ministry approves the State Governments proposal, the existing National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Suratkal would be upgraded to an IIT.
Higher Education Minister, D H Shankaramurthy will meet Rao to extend all possible support for establishing an IIT in the state in the near future. Two committees under M Anandakrishnan and S K Joshi have recommended granting IIT status to seven institutes in the country, including two in South India.
The institutes are Engineering College, Aligarh Muslim University, and Jadavpur Engineering College, Cochin Engineering College, Bengal Engineering College in Shivpur, Osmania Engineering College, University College of Engineering, Hyderabad, and Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University. Two more Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER)would be set up to promote science education in the country.