Cabinet approval for Bengal engineering varsity takeover

 

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the takeover of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur in West Bengal for converting it into an Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST). 

 

 

 

 

 

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the takeover of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur in West Bengal for converting it into an Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).

The five-year project will be set up at a cost Rs.592.20 crore (Rs.300.30 crore as non-recurring cost towards capital expenditure and Rs.291.90 crore as recurring expenditure).

The BESU will be turned into the IIEST by amending the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Act, with the inclusion of special clauses, reflecting its exclusive character. The IIEST will be an ‘institute of national importance' covered under the NIT Act and its organisational and governing structure will be on the lines of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs).

The new IIEST will integrate undergraduate and postgraduate education and research in engineering and science under the same umbrella. It promises to be an institution of international standards and to produce quality manpower for the strategic sector of the country, research laboratories and quality teachers for engineering and science institutions.

The Centre constituted an expert committee in 2005 to evaluate and suggest a plan of action for upgrading seven institutes, including the BESU, which had earlier been identified by the S.K. Joshi Committee. The expert committee had recommended the establishment of a new system of IIESTs as institutes of national importance through an Act of Parliament. The committee also recommended upgrading five institutes, including the BESU, to IIESTs. Admissions to the IIEST will be through the All-India Engineering Entrance Examination.