IIIT Bill passed by Parliament

The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill, 2013 that seeks to declare certain institutions of information technology to be institutions of national importance and creates mechanisms to establish new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) has been passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote yesterday. It had earlier been passed by the Lok Sabha on November 26.

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kancheepuram

 The passage of the bill gives the four institutes -- IIIT -Allahabad, IIIT-Gwalior, IIIT Design and Manufacturing Jabalpur and IIIT Design and Manufacturing Kancheepuram -- the status of 'institutes of national importance'.

Replying to members' comments on the autonomy of these institutes, Union HRD Minister Mrs. Smriti Irani said, "The governance structure of these institutes will be like that of the IITs and NITs which were based on the Central Universities Act as passed by Parliament."

Mrs. Irani said students passing from these institutes will now get degrees and the government would make all efforts to attract the best of faculties. She in particular referred to the agonies of the students of IIIT-Kancheepuram who were awaiting their degrees since 2008 due to non-passage of legislations governing IIITs.