Question : SETTING UP OF WORLD CLASS STANDARDS UNIVERSITIES

(a) whether the Government has any proposal to set up new Universities aimed to attain world-class standards in the country particularly in the States of Orissa and Kerala;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the locations identified for the purpose;

(c) whether the State Governments have identified the required land for the said purpose and the same have been inspected by the Central authorities;

(d) if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether such Universities are likely to be set up with Private- Public-Partnership (PPP) basis;

(f) if so, the details thereof;

(g) whether the concept for establishment of such Universities has been finalised;

(h) if so, the details thereof; and

(i) the time by which these Universities are likely to be made functional?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)

(a) & (b): Yes sir. The National Development Council has approved the setting up of fourteen Universities aiming at world class standards and dedicated to innovation. These universities are proposed to be located at Bhubaneswar in Orissa, Kochi in Kerala, Amritsar in Punjab, Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Patna in Bihar, Guahati in Assam, Kolkata in West Bengal, Bhopal in Mandhya Pradesh, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Coimbatore in tamilnadu, Mysore in Karnataka, Pune in Maharashtra, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Jaipur in Rajasthan respectively.

(c) & (d): Various sites have been proposed by some of the states. However, further decisions are possible only after an appropriate legislation is finalized.

(e) to (h): A Concept Paper finalized by the government is available on website www.education.nic.in and includes the scope for public private partnership.

(i): The proposed universities for innovation are to be established across two plan periods of XIth Plan and XIIth Plan.