LS passes Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020

New Delhi, March 21, 2020

The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, granting statutory status to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology in Public-Private Partnership mode at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur.

The Bill, 2020 will amend the principal acts of 2014 and 2017. Besides granting statutory status to the five IIITs, these will also be declared as Institutions of National Importance along with existing 15 institutes under the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017.

Speaking after the passing of the Bill, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said the Bill will encourage IIITs to promote the study of information technology in the country through their innovative and quality methods.

The Minister said the Bill will declare the remaining 5 IIITs-PPP along with the existing 15 Indian Institutes of Information Technology in Public Private Partnership mode as ‘Institutions of National Importance’ with powers to award degrees.

Among the higher education institutions in the country, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have improved their global rankings significantly. There are now 24 Indian higher education institutes in the QS list of 1000 global institutes in 2020 against 14 in 2017. Similarly, there are now 36 Indian higher education institutes in Times Higher Education (THE) global 1000 institutes against 3 in 2013, he said.

The new Bill will entitle the IIITs to grant Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or Master of Technology (M.Tech) or PhD degree on the lines of a University or Institution of National Importance. It will also enable the Institutes to attract enough students required to develop a strong research base in the country in the field of information technology, he added.

NNN