New Delhi: An ambitious proposal of HRD
Ministry to set up 20 Indian Institutes of Information
Technology (IIIT) could be a non-starter with the Finance
Ministry not favouring it during the 11th Plan.
A note issued by the HRD Ministry for clearance of
Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has been returned by the
Finance Ministry with the suggestion that the proposal may be
considered during the 12th plan, official sources said.
The Human Resource Development Ministry had proposed
to start the institutes in public-private-partnership (PPP)
mode during the 11th plan (2007-2012).
"The Finance Ministry did not agree to the proposal of
setting up of 20 IIITs in 11th Plan. It has said the scheme
can be considered during the 12th Plan," the sources said.
The HRD Ministry is yet to decide its future course
of action on the matter and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal will now
take call on the matter.
The ministry had earlier prepared a PPP model for
setting up 20 IIITs under which the expenditure could be
shared in the ratio of 85 to 15 between the government and
industry.
According to the EFC note prepared by the ministry for
these projects, each IIIT would be set up with an investment
of Rs 200 crore and the government would bear 85 per cent of
the expenditure.
Of the 85 per cent spending, the Centre would provide
50 per cent and the state government would bear 35 per cent of
the expenditure. It means the Centre will provide Rs 100 crore
while the state government will give Rs 70 crore and the
industry will provide Rs 30 crore for setting up of each
IIIT.
The Planning Commission had also given in-principle
approval for it.
The Ministry had overruled a proposal of NASSCOM, the
country`s information technology and business process
outsourcing trade body, which had prepared a Detailed Project
Report suggesting that the private sector should bear more
than 50 per cent of the cost.
As per the plan, each IIIT would be a centre of
excellence and specialise in specific area. These institutes
would concentrate more on basic than applied research.
The Ministry was supposed to bring in a bill in
Parliament to confer them with the status of institutes of
national importance.
Some of the IIITs were supposed to be set up in
northeastern states. If the industry does not come forward,
the DONER (Ministry for Development of North-Eastern Region)
would have provided additional funds.
The buildings and campuses of these institutes were
supposed to be made environment-friendly.
PTI
