Cabinet approves to give status of Institution of National Importance to 5 IIITs

On February 5, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved to confer the status of Institution of National Importance to 5 IIITs (Indian Institute of Information Tecnology). All the 5 IIITs are to operate in PPP mode.

Highlights

The Cabinet approved the Information Technology Laws (Amendment) bill, 2020. According to the bill, five IIITs along with 15 other IIITs are to be declared as Institutions of National Importance and will hold powers to awards degrees of Bachelor of Technology, Master of Technology, BTech and PhD degree.

Features of the bill

The bill will grant statutory status to 5 IIITs that are operating in PPP mode at Bhopal, Surat, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur. There are already 15 IIITs that are currently operating under PPP model. There are 5 IIITs in India that were set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. This means that complete funding for the institute comes from GoI. No private parties are involved. It includes IIITs in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Kancheepuram, Allahabad and Kurnool.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2020