The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the status of five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) as Institutions of National Importance. This formalisation will enable them to award degrees of Bachelor of Technology (B Tech), Master of Technology and Ph. D degree as the Cabinet approved the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
“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. This will entitle them to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or Master of Technology (M.Tech) or Ph.D degree as issued by a University or Institution of National Importance,” an official statement added.
The statement added that the Institutes will also be able to attract enough student required to develop a strong research base in the country in IT sector.
The cabinet also approved ex-post facto to 21 posts of directors, one each in 20 IITs (PPP) and one in IIITDM Kurnool (iIIIT-CFTI) besides ex-post facto to 21 posts of registrars, one each in 20 IIITs (PPP) and one in IIITDM Kurnool.
Alliance Air
The Cabinet also granted ex-post facto dispensation to Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to fly on international sectors between India and Sri Lanka. “A special dispensation is allowed for the interim period till M/s. Alliance Air deploys minimum of 20 Aircraft or 20 per cent of total capacity, whichever is higher for domestic operations,” an official statement added.