IIT For Mandi, Central University For Kangra

By: Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla: The state government is scouting for suitable land to set up an IIT and a central university as it has been sounded the prestigious institutions are proposed to be set up in Himachal under the 11th Five year Plan.

Chief Secretary Ravi Dingra told My Himachal News that the deputy commissioners of Kangra and Kullu have been asked to speed up the process of identifying the land for setting up campuses of the central university and the IIT.

He said that the secretary technical education with the union government had informed him about the state having been allotted an IIT institution. The central university was part of budget provision for higher education, he added.

Dingra said “the state government plans of establishing the IIT in Mandi district and the central university in Kangra stand.”

Sudarshan Kumar Vatsyayan, a Himachali and professor with IIT Mumbai was of the view that location and connectivity to the proposed campus was of prime importance because the rate of progress for institutions even was highly dependent upon it.

“Rail and air connectivity with the proposed campus needs to be given priority while selecting a site for it,” he said.

“A prestigious institution like IIT would bring about an increased competitive sense among hill students especially those from rural areas,” said Vatsyayan. It would benefit other engineering colleges also because they seek assistance from IIT to deliver some of the courses once in a while, increasing the competence level of the students graduating from those colleges, he added.

He said that the research done at centers of excellence would be another important outcome from the new IIT that would attract more industry to the state, ranging from mechanical manufacturing to information technology, computer science, bio sciences and chemical sciences, said professor Vatsyayan.