Five IIITs in PPP mode to be declared as Institutions of National Importance: Union Minister

The Union Cabinet of India today approved the inclusion of five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), established under the public private partnership (PPP) mode, situated at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur under the IIIT (public-private partnership) Act, 2017.

The Bill will declare the five IIITs-PPP, along with the existing 15 Indian Institutes of Information Technology in PPP mode, as 'Institutions of National Importance' with powers to award degrees. This will entitle them to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (BTech) or Master of Technology (MTech) or PhD degree as issued by a University or Institution of National Importance, said a PIB release.

It will also enable the Institutes to attract enough students required to develop a strong research base in the country in the field of information technology. IIIT at Bhopal, Surat, and Bhagalpur started their academic sessions from 2017-18, Agartala in 2018-19, and Raichur in 2019-20. At present 1060 students will be benefited from this amendment. Although these institutions are at the nascent stage currently, after having full strength in the future, this move is expected to benefit as many as about 5000 students, according to the Ministry of HRD.

The objective of the approval is for formalization of IIITs at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala, and Raichur. These IIITs are already functioning as Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. They will now be covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017, similar to the other 15 IIITs established under the scheme in PPP mode.

Furthermore, IIITDM Kurnool has been established as per the IIIT Act, 2014 and is functioning with the other 4 IIITs namely IIIT Allahabad, IIITM Gwalior, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIITDM Kancheepuram. IIITs are envisaged to promote higher education and research in the field of Information Technology.

The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act of 2014 and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017 are the unique initiatives of the Government of India to impart knowledge in the field of Information Technology to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the country, adds the PIB release