India likely to get 20 more IIITs

A conference of the state chief ministers convened here Tuesday, it may approve the opening of 20 more Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), in addition to four already functioning in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Allahabad and Kanchipuram.

Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who will be chairing the meeting, sees great demand for the IT experts opening up from the new national telecom policy he got approved by the Union Cabinet last week and wants the new institutes to produce enough hands to meet this demand.

Fifteen states have already sent proposals to his ministry to open these institutes and one each has been already sanctioned in Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura while others will be approved in Tuesday's meeting.

The Centre has already set aside Rs 2,558 crores for opening the new IIITs under the PPP (public, private participation) model that requires the private parties to contribute just 15 per cent share, while the Centre will give 50 per cent and the state governments have to bear 35 per cent of the cost besides allocation of 50-100 acres of land.

The HRD Ministry's estimate is that each IIT opening would cost Rs 128 crores to the Centre, besides one-time grant of Rs 50 crores towards the salary of the teaching faculty in the first four years.

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