Govt clears decks for setting up Una IIIT

The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday cleared the financial decks for setting up a branch of the country's premier   institute - Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), which would be established in Una district.

The proposal to set up IIIT in the state was in limbo for the past some time as the government was unable to arrange the finance for the project.The decks were cleared in a meeting between industry minister Mukesh Agnihotri and chief secretary Sudripta Roy. Other officials were also present in the meeting.

According to the proposed plan, the institute was to be set up in the public private partnership mode and the total cost was pegged at Rs. 80 crore. The cost of establishment was to be borne by the state, Centre and private industries. About 25% expenditure was to be incurred by the state, 25% from industries and 50% by the central government. However, the state faced difficulty in finding suitable industries to contribute towards the setting up of IIIT.

In Friday's meeting it was decided that since private companies are not coming forward, public sector undertakings (PSUs) should be roped in to provide funds for the institute.“Besides Bombay-based information technology company - ROLTA, we have decided to rope in Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and Himachal Pradesh Transmission Corporation Limited (HPTCL) to contribute funds for the institute,” said Roy.

“Financial glitch was a major hurdle in setting up of the institute. Other issues like land acquisition for campus and other technicalities have been done. We needed bank guarantee as no private party was coming forward for setting up the institute,” he said, adding that the government will shortly include the new board of directors and sign the memorandum of understanding.

With the setting up of the institute, the state would have several higher education institutes of national repute like Central University at Kangra, Indian Institute of Technology at Mandi, National Institute of Fashion Designing at Hamirpur, Hydro Engineering Institute at Bilaspur and National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Hamirpur.

With the setting up of the institute, the state would have several higher education institutes of national repute like Central University at Kangra, Indian Institute of Technology at Mandi, National Institute of Fashion Designing at Hamirpur, Hydro Engineering Institute at Bilaspur and National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Hamirpur. 

Source: http://to.ly/m5Nl