Six universities, including Manipal Academy of Higher Education, to be ‘institutions of eminence’
New Delhi, July 9 : The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on Monday announced that six institutes -- three private and three public -- as Institutions of Eminence(IoE), entitling them to more autonomy and grants from the government.
The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru were the three public institutes announced as IoE. They will get Rs 1,000 crore from the government in the next five years.
From the private sector, BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and JIO Institute by Reliance Foundation were granted the status.
"This decision is a landmark decision for the following reasons: this was never thought of and tried; it is more than a graded autonomy, it is really full autonomy to the institutes; the institutes can take their own decisions," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted.
As per the University Grants Commission (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2017, the Ministry was to select 20 IoEs -- 10 private and 10 public -- and had formed a high-level committee to shortlist the entries solicited from the institutes on the basis of their research calibre and other criteria.
According to a government statement issued earlier, these IoEs will have greater autonomy in that they will be able to admit foreign students up to 30 per cent of the admitted students and recruit foreign faculty up to 25 per cent of the faculty strength.
They can also offer online courses up to 20 per cent of its programmes.
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Former South African cricketers arrested on match-fixing charges
Cape Town: Three former South African cricketers, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thami Tsolekile, and Ethy Mbhalati, have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of corruption in connection to the 2015-16 Ram Slam T20 Challenge match-fixing scandal.
The trio faces five charges under s. 15 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, a South African law aimed at tackling corruption. Investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, revealed their alleged involvement in attempting to manipulate matches in collaboration with Indian bookmakers.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has clarified that no matches were ultimately affected, as the conspirators’ plans were thwarted. However, the scandal has cast a shadow on the integrity of South African cricket.
These arrests follow the 2016-2017 bans imposed on the three cricketers, alongside four others, for their roles in the same scandal. Among them, Gulam Bodi served time in prison, while Jean Symes and Pumi Matshikwe received suspended sentences after pleading guilty in 2021 and 2022. There has been no update on possible charges against Alviro Petersen, another player implicated in the controversy.
The legal proceedings, which mark the first application of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act in sports-related corruption, have been postponed until February 2025 to allow further investigation.
Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, National Head of the Hawks, stressed the importance of safeguarding the integrity of sport, stating, “Corruption undermines the integrity of sport, and the Hawks are determined to safeguard the values of fairness and professionalism in all areas of society.”
