Cabinet nod to 3 Sanskrit institutions as central unis

The Government on Wednesday cleared decks for converting Delhi-based Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth as well as Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in Tirupati into central universities.

The proposal to convert the three Sanskrit institutions, which are currently deemed-to-be-universities, was approved by the Union Cabinet at its meeting here presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry has drafted a bill to convert the three Sanskrit institutions into central universities.

“The Cabinet has approved the Central Sanskrit Universities Bill for converting three Sanskrit deemed-to-be-universities into central universities,” Information and Broadcasting (I&B) minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the meeting.

The Minister said that the Bill will be introduced in Parliament for its approval.

He, however, did share any further details, saying details will come with the introduction of the Bill in Parliament.

Sanskrit scholars and academia had since long been demanding grant of central university status to the three Sanskrit institutions. The demands grew louder after the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre winning the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

The grant of central university status to the three Sanskrit institutions would be a shot in their arms. Being deemed-to-be-universities, they currently do not have powers to grant affiliation to colleges and expand their footprints.

All three Sanskrit institutions have been certified by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council as grade 'A” institutions under the deemed-to-be-university category.