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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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
