Planning Commission suggestion: Free Land for 999 years to Universities

For boosting up private sector investment in higher education, the central government should allocate land free of charge for 999 years to set up an educational institution (University), a group set up by the Planning Commission has suggested.

The Committee report on corporate sector participation in higher education headed by Chief Mentor of Infosys Mr. N. R Narayana Murthy presented its report to the Planning Commission Deputy chairman Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi.

The committee said the land provided by the government to the private sector for setting up a new institution should have a world class air connectivity and well developed social infrastructure.

Mr. N. R Narayana Murthy said, "The existing higher education system in India lags in comparison to global standards and is inadequate to meet the demand

Committee Recommendations...!.

* For setting up new institutions, land should be allocated by both central and state governments, free of charge for 999 years", the committee said in its recommendations.

* The land should be usable for setting up academic facilities, incubation centres and technology parks.

* This should also be allowed for residential facilities for faculty, staff students &  administration and other social infrastructure like school, college, recreation &  health facilities for the institution, car and bus parking, restaurants, shops etc.

* India does not have adequate eligible students and needs an additional capacity of 2.6 crore seats over the next decade.

* The group recommended that the higher education institutes should have freedom to accredit with the any global accreditation agency.

* It recommended visas for all academic and research visitors (faculty, student, staff, administrator, researchers) and that they should be exempt from current visa regulations of minimum salary norms (USD 25,000 per year).

* The group also emphasised the need for creating 20 new knowledge clusters in identified cities and educational hubs through public private partnership model at an investment of Rs. 500 crore per cluster.

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