IITs, IISc should double their research: Tharoor

Minister for Human Resource Development Dr Shashi Tharoor has asked the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to pull up their socks and spend more on research.

“Although the IITs are top ranking institutes in the country which carry out much research, it is still not enough considering their ranking,” Tharoor said.

He added that under ideal conditions, at least 30 per cent of a university’s funding should be earmarked for research.

“Today we have a mismatch between the education given by colleges and the skills sets sought by companies. That is why companies often put a new recruit under a year’s training, despite his specialized education. An expansion beyond teaching might just help,” he said.

Tharoor said that he has asked the IITs and IISC to double their research work. “We have several universities with good teaching facilities, but inadequate or no research facilities,” he said while speaking at the convocation of Sri Sai Ram College of Engineering, reported