The Hindu : National : Nod for Nalanda University Bill

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National

Nod for Nalanda University Bill

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the Nalanda University Bill 2010, paving the way for the establishment of Nalanda University at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,005 crore. The Bill will be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The Bill has been drafted by the Ministry of External Affairs, following a consensus arrived at the East Asia Summit held in Thailand in October last. A project office has been leased in the city for the proposed university. The Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Professor Amartya Sen, will draft the statutes for the university.

The proposed university will have schools of Buddhist Studies; Philosophy and Comparative Religions; Historical Studies; International Relations and Peace Studies; Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies; Languages and Literature; and Ecology and Environmental Studies.

India, as the host country, will make a significant contribution at the initial stage. The Planning Commission has allocated Rs. 50 crore as endowment fund in the form of special grant for the commencement of activities, and till such time the university becomes sustainable on its own, it will function as a public-private partnership. Bihar has acquired 500 acres of land in Rajgir, near the original Nalanda University site.

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