20 varsities to get Rs 10k-cr funds

Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government intends to unshackle universities, and announced a Rs 10,000-crore corpus to help 20 varsities emerge among the world’s best. He lamented that no Indian university figures among the top 500 globally.

Addressing the centenary celebrations of Patna University here, he said measures like grant of central status were “a thing of the past” and his government has taken “a step forward” towards making 10 private and 10 government universities world class. DH reported the government’s move and notifiying guidelines for the scheme in September.

“My government took an important step towards unshackling the IIMs, freeing them from restrictions and regulations set by the government. We intend to do the same for our universities and ensure that our centres of higher learning figure among the best 500 in the world,” Modi said here.

In his little over 30-minute speech, the Prime Minister stressed on the need for universities to give more emphasis to “learning and innovation” and give up old teaching methods which focussed on “cramming students’ minds with information”.

“We will provide an aid of Rs 10,000 crore to 10 private universities and an equal number of government ones for a period of five years. The universities have to prove their potential.” he said.