Government Announces new IIT, IIMs

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The government Saturday announced the setting up of an IIT in Karnataka along with IIMs in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

"In the fiscal year 2015-16, I propose to set up an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) in Karnataka, and upgrade Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad into a full-fledged IIT," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha here.

The minister, who gave a speech for over one and a half hours, also proposed to set up a Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education in Amritsar.

"IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) will be setup in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh. In Kerala, I propose to upgrade the existing National Institute of Speech and Hearing to a university of Disability Studies and Rehabilitation," he said.

Jaitley said that in his budget speech in July 2014, he had indicated his intention to have one major central institute in each state.

He also proposed three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, one each in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"...and an Institutes of Science and Education Research in Nagaland and Odisha. I also propose to set up a centre for film production, animation and gaming in Arunachal Pradesh, for the north-eastern states and Apprenticeship Training Institute for Women in Haryana and Uttarakhand," he said.

The finance minister said he proposed "to set up a fully IT based Student Financial Aid Authority to administer and monitor Scholarship as well as Educational Loan Schemes, through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram", so that poor and middle class students could pursue higher education of their choice without any fund constraints.

"We will ensure that no student misses out on higher education for lack of funds," he said.