New Delhi: Government of India has announced the addition of at least 15 new central varsities, to the existing 20. The universities would start functioning from the 2010-11 session.
Vice-chancellors (VC's) of the upcoming 15 new varsities were appointed in the month of February by the Government. The decision was taken during a two day conference held in which VC's of the 15 new central universities presented their plans before the University Grants Commission (UGC) - the statutory body controlling these institutions.
Out of the total 15 institutions, 12 are new central universities in as many states, while three state universities have been upgraded. The 12 new universities proposed will be set up in Jharkhand, Karnataka, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
UGC official said that the universities would offer undergraduate, postgraduate, M Phil and PhD programs besides courses on regional issues. As per the sources, UGC has already sanctioned nearly Rs 2 crore to each of these universities to meet their operational expenditure. Most of the universities are expected to start with a temporary campus while some of them already have temporary campuses.
