HRD Ministry approves 16 new State Universities

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development has approved setting up of 16 State universities under its Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), informed Minister of State for HRD Satya Pal Singh in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Singh said the Central Government has taken a policy decision not to convert State universities into Central universities for reasons of legacy issues, adjustment of existing staff and disaffiliation of affiliated colleges.

Rather, it has approved to establish State universities through 'clustering of colleges' and 'by way of upgradation of existing autonomous colleges' in the ratio of 50:50.

"At present, no proposal to accord the status of central university to any state university is under consideration," he said.

The varsities have been approved in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Puducherry.