Karnataka cabinet approves plan to develop IIIT-B at Rs 817 crore

BengaluruL The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday gave administrative approval to upgrade the International Institute of Information and Technology, Bengaluru (IIIT-B) at a cost of Rs 817 crore in the next eight years.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil mentioned that the state government will provide Rs 285 crore for the endeavour.

Sources told DH that the remaining Rs 532 crore will be spent from the institute’s own resources and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds from different companies. The move intends to develop the campus holistically and bring in new facilities.

The Cabinet also decided to establish the “Beyond Bengaluru Cluster Seed Fund” at a cost of Rs 75 crore to help the development of start-ups beyond the state capital in places such as Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi.

The Cabinet also decided to provide modern instruments for land survey to the Revenue Department (Survey Settlement and land Records Department) to provide 5,000 GNSS rovers (receiver + controller) at a cost of Rs 175 crore.

These rovers will replace the age-old chain-based method for surveying lands, which has been used since the early 1800s. This comes as a continuation of Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s initiative on Wednesday to distribute 465 rovers.

The new instruments are expected to greatly reduce the time required for land measurement and ensure that manipulation in measurements does not occur.