The upcoming 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) will not have state quota. The decision was taken by a human resource development ministry-appointed committee which has rejected a key demand from different states to have domicile-based reservation in the IIITs.T V Mohandas Pai, who heads the HRD panel has denied any preference to state students in the admission process.
Presently, 50% of seats are reserved for state students in National Institutes of Technology. Each of the new IIITs are being set up with capital cost contribution of Rs 120 crore in the ratio of 50:35:15 by the Centre, state and industry respectively. In addition, state governments should offer 50-100 acres of contiguous land for free, and identify industry partners.
The proposed IIITs, that will set up in phases over a nine-year period starting 2011, will admit students through a national-level entrance test, like the All-India Engineering Entrance Exam. The existing IIITs, like the ones in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Bhubaneshwar, will mentor the new ones.IIITs, which will be declared institutes of national importance, will be specializing in application of IT skills in one or more domain areas relevant to the state where they will come up.
As per the dratft prepared by the Pai committee the industry partners should be at least five-year-old and should make a minimum contribution of Rs 2 crore. The industry partners will allow employees to go on a sabbatical to teach at the institutes, and students from these institutes would also be allowed to intern or collaborate in research. The intellectual property will jointly be held by the company as well as the institute.Pai committee will also have a website to ensure transparency in selection of states/IIITs.
[Source: Times of India]
