The Indian government will increase its spending on higher education next year by 40 percent, or $3.1 billion, under the country’s Mission in Education through ICT. The Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology will receive an extra $435 million, and $170.5 million will be spent to open 16 central universities in states without a central university. Interest-free loans will be offered to allow disadvantaged students to take technical and professional courses. The goal is to ensure that by 2017, one-fifth of Indians attend college. The country’s prime minister has backed the establishment of five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, seven new Indian Institutes of Management, and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology. Opening those new institutions would double the number of top-tier institutions in the country. There are also plans to set up 16 central universities, 14 other universities, and nearly 400 colleges.
Courtesy: IEEE Computer Society