Sunday, October 29, 2006: For NRI
children, visiting India may no longer be an annual event any
more. Now, they can look forward to longer stays as the first
PIO university is finally taking shape.
The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) is finalising
a policy to set up a PIO varsity, spread over 100 hectares, in
a special economy zone (SEZ) in the country.
While, the status of the deemed university, fully funded by the
NRIs/PIOs, will be governed by the provisions of the Sec 3 of
the UGC Act, the investors will be exempted from IT, customs duty,
excise duty, sales tax etc, since it will be in the SEZ.
It will be a major step towards developing a comprehensive bilateral
educational links with the Indian Diaspora, say experts.
"Initially, there were some hurdles. Now, they have been
sorted out and the modalities are being worked out. Since the
issue involves other departments, we are finalising the basic
framework in close coordination with the HRD, commerce, finance,
health, home ministries and the planning commission," says
Vayalar Ravi, minister of MOIA.
There are about 25 million PIO living in over 130 countries.
But higher education is very expensive in most developed countries.
In 2000, a high level committee on Indian
diaspora appointed by the government, recommended the setting
up of a new university and professional institution.
"The committee also found that in many countries the laws
did not allow PIOs to avail of higher education," says Ravi.
The proposed varsity will cater to the needs of these people
and will be at par with the best universities of the world.
Officials feel besides attracting investment in the country,
students can become brand ambassadors for India and help in the
country's development.
"Nearly 25% seats will be reserved for resident Indian students,"
says a senior MOIA official.
The varsity will conform to the UGC, AICTE, MCE standards but
will be fully autonomous. Faculty appointments, curriculum design,
financial matters, fee structure and intake of students will be
their own decision.
Initially, courses like medicine, engineering, dentistry, business
administration, IT, bio-tech will be included. New courses will
be added depending on future demand.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
