NASSCOM submits report to HRD Ministry for 20 IIITs

Mumbai, May 22 (UNI) In line with Prime Minister's 11th Five Year Plan, NASSCOM, which represents the Indian IT-BPO industry, today announced that it has formally presented a model Detailed Project Report (DPR) for establishment of 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) in India to Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), a release said today.

Commenting on preparation of the model DPR, NASSCOM President Som Mittal said ''Addressing the current skill gap is vital for the Indian IT industry to maintain its growth trajectory. Skill gap here refers not only to the low employability of the current graduate pool but also to the future needs of the industry in frontier technologies and functional domains.

''Given the increasing requirements of the IT industry, it is also important for the new institutes to scale up beyond the conventionally accepted numbers at both undergraduate and post-graduate and doctoral research levels,'' he said.

The report focuses on academic and research excellence through innovative governance and operational approaches with each of the proposed IIITs be set up as a fully autonomous institution, through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Partners in PPP model will include MHRD, state governments and the industry, who will establish the IIIT.

The institutes have also been envisioned to become a world class academically and evolve into technology/functional Centres of Excellence through a strong focus on research in frontier technology areas.

''To achieve this objective, it is imperative to attract best-in-class faculty and students; develop sustainable linkages with industry and provide an environment conducive for research excellence,'' said the report.

The report has also included potential locations for the IIITs to be considered by MHRD and other stakeholders, added the release.

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