Here is a report prepared by HRD Ministry on the course of Science and Technology Education in India. This 23 page report is very informative, complete with facts and figures and govt. plan to achieve the goal.
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2007/May07/2007050113.pdf
(Link provided by Bengal Engineering College Alumni Webmaster)
Page 4 (section 4.2.2) discusses upgradation of seven institutes to the level of IITs.
Excerpts:
4.2.2 Upgradation of seven Institutes roughly to the level of IITs: -
Pursuant to the announcement made by the then Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech in 2003 regarding upgradation of five promising institutions to IITs, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in November, 2003, constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. S.K. Joshi, former Director-General, CSIR, to identify prominent institutions having potential for such upgradation. The Committee identified seven academic institutions of repute to be upgraded to the level of IITs. These institutes are given below:-
- Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.
- University College of Engineering combined with the University College of Technology, both belonging to Osmania University, Hyderabad.
- Bengal Engineering College, Howrah.
- Jadavpur University’s Engineering and Technology Departments
- Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
- Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam and,
- Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin.
After the receipt of report of Prof. S. K. Joshi Committee, the Central Government constituted another Committee under Prof. Anandakrishnan to work out the details of the process of upgradation of the Institutes. However, both the Prof. Joshi Committee and Prof. Anandakrishnan Committee were of the view that the seven identified institutes can not measure upto the standards of the existing IITs in terms of various parameters used for evaluating Institutes. It was, therefore, recommended that it may not be correct to position these colleges straightaway alongside the IITs. Prof. Anandakrishnan Committee proposed that five of the seven identified Institutes, namely, Bengal Engineering & Science University; Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University; Cochin University of Science and Technology; Andhra University College of Engineering; and Osmania University College of Engineering and University College of Technology may be established as Indian Institutes of Engineering Science & Technology (IIEST) as Institutes of National Importance (INI’s) through an Act of Parliament.
Total de-linking of the remaining two Institutes from their parent universities, was found to be virtually impossible and, therefore, these were recommended for one time support only for their upgradation.
An amount of Rs.61 crores was released to these seven institutions during 2006-07 to start the process of upgradation. Letters have been written to the concerned State Governments in respect of those Institutes proposed to be established as IIESTs as Institutes of National Importance through an Act of Parliament, to convey their willingness for transferring their assets and liabilities to the Central Government. Replies of the State Governments of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are awaited.
A plan outlay of Rs.75 crores has been proposed during the financial year 2007-08 for the scheme of upgradation of seven Institutes.