National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007

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National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007
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Parliament of India
  • An Act to declare certain institutions of technology, science education and research to be Institutions of national importance and to provide for instructions and research in branches of engineering, technology, management, education, sciences and arts and for the advancement of learning and dissemination of knowledge in such branches and for certain other matters connected with such institutions.
Citation Act no. 29 of 2007
Territorial extentWhole of India
Passed by Lok Sabha
Passed5 June 2007
Passed by Rajya Sabha
Passed6 June 2007
Assented to6 June 2007 (by the President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam)
Commenced15 August 2007
Effective 15 August 2007
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill titleThe National Institutes of Technology Bill, 2007
Introduced by Murli Manohar Joshi (as Minister of Human Resources Development)
Introduced5 June 2007
Related legislation
Summary
The Act provides further autonomy to National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research by declaring them as institutions of national importance.
Status: In force

The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 (original name: National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007; renamed by amendment of 2012) was enacted by the Parliament of India to declare India's National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) as Institutes of National Importance. The former Act received the assent of the President of India on 5 June 2007 and became effective on Independence Day, 2007. [1] The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 is the second law for technical education institutions after the Indian Institutes of Technology Act of 1961.

Contents

NITs, IIEST and IISERs are centrally funded technical institutes in India. This Act declares them as institutions of national importance, along with the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and makes them eligible for a larger amount of funding and support from the Indian Government. [2] The Act also aims at unifying the organisational structure of the NITs and bringing them under the direct purview of the Ministry of Human Resource Department (MHRD). These institutions were previously governed by individual societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Rationale

The 17 Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) (Bhopal, Allahabad, Kozhikode, Durgapur, Hamirpur, Kurukshetra, Jalandhar, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nagpur, Rourkela, Silchar, Srinagar, Surathkal, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, and Warangal) were established in the major states of India as a cooperative venture between the central and respective state governments. In 2002, the Indian government decided to upgrade all RECs to NITs and later raised a few other reputed government colleges in subsequent years (namely Patna, Raipur and Agartala) to NIT status.

After the upgrade, NITs were completely under central government control. The Institutes provided potential choice for the government to replicate the IIT system and the Indian government decided to give these institutes more autonomous powers.

Benefit to the NITs

With the NIT Act, the societies governing the NITs ceased to exist and the institutes are placed directly under the administrative control of the HRD ministry with the boards of governors heading affairs. The chairperson of the board is appointed by the President of India, who will also be a visitor to each institute. The ministry will also have a say in the appointment of the Director and Deputy Director of each institute.

The NITs have become a group of disciplined institutions and within few years, they have come a long way, based on the successful and sound foundation of REC system and with the elimination of dual control by state and central government. They have united together and successfully lobbied for Institute of National Importance status under NIT Act of 2007. With the new-found INI status, NITs shall be able to receive increased government funding and support, more freedom to implement various academic programs and increased attention nationally and internationally.

NITs further plan to start NITNET for networking and implement NIT-Vision 2025 to launch ambitious academic and research programs. Individual institutes will be permitted to start new programs catering to the needs of the local industry and wind up unpopular courses. The focus will be on nanotechnology and biotechnology. Plans are afoot to start integrated courses in science and technology along with dual degree programs both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

NITs have been told to increase the student intake in the next five years, with the number of students being doubled to that of the existing strength. The MHRD Ministry plans to increase the number of the research fellowships, with as many as 60 to 70 being granted to each institute to enable students to concentrate on new topics of interest. Existing laboratories and libraries will also be upgraded. [3]

Amendments

The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, on 19 July 2016 to bring NIT in Andhra Pradesh under this act. [4] It was passed by Lok Sabha on 21 July 2016 and Rajya Sabha on 1 August 2016. [5]

Related Research Articles

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are centrally funded technical institutes under the ownership of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education, and Research Act, 2007, which declared them institutions of national importance and laid down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The act lists 31 NITs. Each NIT is autonomous and linked to the others through a common council known as the Council of NITSER, which oversees their administration. All NITs are funded by the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IIEST, Shibpur</span> National Institute of Technology in West Bengal,India

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, abbreviated as IIEST Shibpur is a public technological university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1856, it is recognised as an Institute of National Importance under MHRD by the Government of India. It is controlled by the Council of NITSER. It is the fourth oldest engineering institute in India after College of Engineering, Guindy, IIT Roorkee, College of Engineering, Pune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Durgapur</span> Public technical university in Durgapur, West Bengal

National Institute of Technology Durgapur, formerly known as Regional Engineering College, Durgapur, is a public technical university in the city of Durgapur in West Bengal, India. Founded in 1960, it is one of India's oldest technical universities. It is located on a campus of 187 acres (0.75 km²).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Srinagar</span> Institute in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

National Institute of Technology Srinagar is a public technical university located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and as such is directly under the control of the Ministry of Education (MoE). It was established in 1960 as one of several Regional Engineering Colleges established as part of the Second Five Year Plan (1956–61) by the Government of India. It is governed by the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007 which has declared it as Institute of National Importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Silchar</span> Indian engineering school

National Institute Of Technology Silchar is one of the 31 NITs of India and was established in 1967 as a Regional Engineering College in Silchar. In 2002, it was upgraded to the status of National Institute of Technology and was declared as Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Raipur</span> Public engineering institution in India

National Institute of Technology, Raipur is a public technical and research university located in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. Founded in 2010 with two engineering disciplines, namely Mining Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering, the institute focuses exclusively on science, technology, engineering, and architecture.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the premier autonomous public technical and research universities located across India, founded under the leadership of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Department of Higher Education is the department under Ministry of Education, that oversees higher education in India.

Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology was a planned group of academic institutions in India for research and education in engineering, originally proposed by the Government of India in 2007 to meet the increasing demand for technological and scientific workforce in the industrial and service sectors of India as well as the growing need for qualified personnel in research and development.

Previously a neglected aspect of the Indian Central government, Education in Odisha is witnessing a rapid transformation. Its capital city, Bhubaneswar, is emerging as a knowledge hub in India with several new public and private universities, including the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology after five decades of demand.

The Council of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) commonly known as the Council of NITs, is the supreme governing body of India's National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIESTS) and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) as per provisions under Section 30 of the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007. The Council of NITSER consists of chairmen, directors of all NITs, IIEST and IISERs along with the government nominees from various sectors with the Minister of Education as the Chairman of the Council. The Council of NITSER is the highest decision making body in the NIT, IIEST and IISER fraternities and is answerable only to the Government of India. The Council of NITSER is expected to meet regularly and take steps conducive for maximum growth of the NITs, IIEST and IISERs as whole in the near future.

In India, Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution by an act of Parliament of India for such institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state". Institutes of National Importance receive special recognition, higher autonomy, and funding from the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram</span> Institution of higher education in Kerala, India

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Vithura,Thiruvananthapuram is an autonomous public university located in Vithura, Kerala, India. The institute is one of the seven IISERs established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, to bridge the gap between research and basic sciences' education at the undergraduate level. All IISERs are declared as Institutes of National Importance by the Parliament of India in 2012 through the NIT Amendment Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education (India)</span> Ministry responsible for education within the Government of India

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The ministry is further divided into two departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with university level education, technical education, scholarships, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher education in India</span>

India has a publicly funded higher education system that is the third largest in the world. The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 15 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh</span> Public engineering institution in India

National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh is a public technical and research institute located at Jote near Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. NIT Arunachal Pradesh is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance. NIT Arunachal Pradesh started its functioning from 2010 in a temporary campus in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh. The institute presently functions from its permanent Campus at Jote, Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Una</span> Engineering college in Himachal Pradesh, India

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References

  1. "The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007|Legislative Department | Ministry of Law and Justice | GoI". legislative.gov.in. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  2. "NIIT Notification" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  3. "Council of NITs". nitcouncil.org.in. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  4. "Bill introduced in Lok Sabha to bring 6 new IITs, ISM under IIT Act", The Economic Times , 19 July 2016
  5. "Parliament passes bill for setting up NIT in Andhra", Business Standard , Press Trust of India, 1 August 2016