The Hindu : National : Nasscom suggests 20 cities to set up IIITs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 23, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Nasscom suggests 20 cities to set up IIITs

Sandeep Joshi

Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, among those named

Proposal to set them up as fully autonomous institutions
Envisioned to become world class institutes

NEW DELHI: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Thursday suggested the 20 cities for setting up new Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT).

Delhi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and Jammu are among the cities suggested.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced the initiative in the 11th Five Year Plan.

In its model detailed project report (DPR) presented to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Nasscom, the trade body representing the Indian information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry, has also included the names of Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Patna, Shillong, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Nagpur, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Visakhapatanam, Mysore, Mangalore and Coimbatore for establishing new IIITs.

PPP model

In its model DPR that will serve as a template for the preparation of the DPR for each individual IIIT, Nasscom has proposed that the new IIITs be set up as a fully autonomous institutions, through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The partners in setting up the IIITs should be the Ministry, the respective State governments and industry members.

National importance

According to Nasscom president Som Mittal, each IIIT has been envisioned to become a world-class academic institute and evolve into technology and functional ‘Centres of Excellence’ through a strong focus on research in frontier technology areas.

To achieve this, it is imperative to attract best-in-class faculty, and students; develop sustainable linkages with industry; and provide an environment conducive for research excellence.

To justify the large investments being made in the IIITs, it is important that they provide a sufficient scale at undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral research levels, he added.

“We recognise that this was an initiative of national importance and of great significance not only for the Indian IT industry but also for the other sectors of the Indian economy.

It is also a critical focus area for Nasscom as part of its education and skill building initiatives,” he said.

Autonomy

“The model for the new IIITs proposed in the DPR focuses on both academic and research excellence through innovative governance and operational approaches and a strong and sustained participation from the IT industry.

“However, achieving this will not be easy and it is important that each institute is supported, especially in the initial years, and is also allowed complete autonomy to define its roadmap and implement it,” Mr. Mittal added.

The IT industry was very keen to work with the government and other stakeholders to realise the objectives of this initiative.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National