Odisha HRD

National Universities will be exemplars for other universities including central universities

July 28th, 2009

Following is from a recent PIB report about a Rajya Sabha reply.

RAJYA  SABHA

             The Government is considering a proposal to set up 14 Universities aiming at world class standards at the following locations:-

Sl. No.	Location
1.	Amritsar (Punjab)
2.	Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh)
3.	Jaipur (Rajasthan)
4.	Gandhinagar (Gujarat)
5.	Patna (Bihar)
6.	Guwahati (Assam)
7.	Kolkata (West Bengal)
8.	Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
9.	Kochi (Kerala)
10.	Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
11.	Mysore (Karnataka)
12.	Pune (Maharashtra)
13.	Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
14.	Bhubhaneshwar (Orissa)

Universities aiming at world class standards would act as exemplars for other universities including Central Universities, in benchmarking standards of teaching and research to those prevailing in the best universities in the world.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Rajya Sabha today.

There are some reports about a "brain gain" policy that is being considered for the National Universities. Following is an excerpt from a report in webindia123.

The brain drain from the country will be checked by a ‘Brain Gain’ policy, the Government told the Rajya Sabha today.

The steps mooted under the policy would attract talent from all over the world into the country’s 14 national universities aiming for world class standards as well as for Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and National Institutes of Technology, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purundeswari told the House in a written reply.

Following are excerpts from a report in Times of India by Akshaya Mukul.

In a move that could result in the exodus of Indian scholars and teachers from foreign universities back to the country, HRD ministry’s new Brain Gain policy promises unheard of academic freedom, negotiable salaries, massive research funds, right environment, freedom from regulation and bureaucratic control and a good quality of life.

… The ministry’s Brain Gain policy — aimed at attracting Indian talent for 14 proposed national universities to be developed as ‘global centres of innovation’ — is likely to be made public in the coming days.

Recognizing that funding is essential to support research environment, Brain Gain policy promises a Research Endowment Fund of at least Rs 200 crore per national university per year. The university will also have the freedom to source funding from non-government sources subject to their not being dubious organizations.

Grants will be provided to individual researchers on the basis of their proposal, which will be evaluated by ‘academic research peer group’ consisting of eminent academics. Researchers will be free to procure aids and equipment, appoint research associates and assistants and decide on their salary. The amount spent by the university or its academics on research or teaching will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. In this regard, the ministry has proposed amendment to CAG Act, 1971.

Accountability will be ensured by reviews by the academic research peer group for research work and teaching peer group for course work and teaching. National universities will have the freedom to establish chairs of studies with funding through non-government endowments to be occupied by eminent professors. Chair professors will receive pay, if any, both from the endowment as well as university.

On the academic front, national universities will be kept out of the purview of regulatory oversight as well as regulations on maintenance of standards or minimum qualification requirements for appointment to academic posts. As for academic freedom, researchers will be free to publish results. They will also have freedom to patent the results of research jointly with university without getting government approval, except in cases of research in strategic areas.

Entry Filed under: Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),Universities of Innovation,University of Innovation Bhubaneswar