7 from state apply for Institute of Eminence tag

Seven premier institutions of  higher education in Karnataka have  applied for the Institute of Eminence (IoE) status under a scheme of the Central government.

The University of Mysore, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bengaluru, and the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, are the state-run institutions that want the tag. The JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education have applied for the tag under the existing private institutions' category. Bengaluru-based Indian Institute  for Human Settlements (IIHM) has sought approval for the establishment of a brand new IoE as greenfield venture.

Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation, Bharti Airtel and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, are among eight private sector entities that have applied for setting up a brand new IoE as greenfield venture under the scheme.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has received a total of 100 applications - 67 from state-run institutions and 33 from private entities -for the IoE tag.  It  has also received Rs 100 crore from the applicants. Each applicant was required to deposit Rs  1 crore as processing fee.

The Centre wants to establish 20 IoEs as a distinct category of deemed-to-be-universities with the grant of greater autonomy in their functioning so that they become "world-class" institutions over the next 10 years and figure on the list of top 100 universities in the world.

Ten of these  institutions will be picked among state-run higher educational institutions  while the rest will be set up by approving the applications of the existing private institutions and organisations.

All 20 IoEs will be selected through a challenge method to ensure only the best of the proposals are approved.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)-Chennai, Bombay, Delhi, Roorkee, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Indore- are among the 67 higher educational institutions that have applied for the IoE tag.

IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Calcutta have also joined the race along with the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, the Central University of Hyderabad, Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Pondicherry University and the University of Punjab have also applied.

"(The) overwhelming response to the idea of IoE, which will become world-class universities, is a validation of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for improving the quality of higher education in India. The selection of Institutions of Eminence will not only improve the quality of education but also propel competition in the entire education sector," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said.

The Centre is in process of forming an empowered committee to evaluate the applications and select the most suitable ones.