| National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 | |
|---|---|
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| Parliament of India | |
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| Citation | Actno. 29 of 2007 |
| Territorial extent | Whole ofIndia |
| Passed by | Lok Sabha |
| Passed | 5 June 2007 |
| Passed by | Rajya Sabha |
| Passed | 6 June 2007 |
| Assented to | 6 June 2007(by thePresident of India,APJ Abdul Kalam) |
| Commenced | 15 August 2007 |
| Effective | 15 August 2007 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber:Lok Sabha | |
| Bill title | The National Institutes of Technology Bill, 2007 |
| Introduced by | Murli Manohar Joshi(asMinister of Human Resources Development) |
| Introduced | 5 June 2007 |
| Related legislation | |
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| Summary | |
| The Act provides further autonomy toNational Institutes of Technology,Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology andIndian Institutes of Science Education and Research by declaring them asinstitutions of national importance. | |
| Status: In force | |
TheNational Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 (original name:National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007; renamed by amendment of 2012) was enacted by theParliament of India to declare India'sNational Institutes of Technology (NITs),Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) andIndian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) asInstitutes of National Importance. The former Act received the assent of thePresident of India on 5 June 2007 and became effective onIndependence Day, 2007.[1] TheNational Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 is the second law fortechnical education institutions after theIndian Institutes of Technology Act of 1961.[citation needed]
NITs, IIEST and IISERs are centrally funded technical institutes in India. This Act declares them as institutions of national importance, along with the lines of theIndian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and makes them eligible for a larger amount of funding and support from the Indian Government.[2] The Act also aims at unifying the organisational structure of the NITs and bringing them under the direct purview of the Ministry of Human Resource Department (MHRD). These institutions were previously governed by individual societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
The 17 Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) (Bhopal,Allahabad,Kozhikode,Durgapur,Hamirpur,Kurukshetra,Jalandhar,Jamshedpur,Jaipur,Nagpur,Rourkela,Silchar,Srinagar,Surathkal,Surat,Tiruchirappalli, andWarangal) were established in the major states of India as a cooperative venture between the central and respective state governments. In 2002, the Indian government decided to upgrade all RECs to NITs and later raised a few other reputed government colleges in subsequent years (namelyPatna,Raipur andAgartala) to NIT status.[citation needed]
After the upgrade, NITs were completely under central government control. The Institutes provided potential choice for the government to replicate the IIT system and the Indian government decided to give these institutes more autonomous powers.[citation needed]
With the NIT Act, the societies governing the NITs ceased to exist and the institutes are placed directly under the administrative control of the HRD ministry with the boards of governors heading affairs. The chairperson of the board is appointed by thePresident of India, who will also be a visitor to each institute. The ministry will also have a say in the appointment of the Director and Deputy Director of each institute.
The NITs have become a group of disciplined institutions and within few years, they have come a long way, based on the successful and sound foundation of REC system and with the elimination of dual control by state and central government. They have united together and successfully lobbied for Institute of National Importance status under NIT Act of 2007. With the new-found INI status, NITs shall be able to receive increased government funding and support, more freedom to implement various academic programs and increased attention nationally and internationally.
NITs further plan to start NITNET for networking and implement NIT-Vision 2025 to launch ambitious academic and research programs. Individual institutes will be permitted to start new programs catering to the needs of the local industry and wind up unpopular courses. The focus will be on nanotechnology and biotechnology. Plans are afoot to start integrated courses in science and technology along with dual degree programs both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
NITs have been told to increase the student intake in the next five years, with the number of students being doubled to that of the existing strength. The MHRD Ministry plans to increase the number of the research fellowships, with as many as 60 to 70 being granted to each institute to enable students to concentrate on new topics of interest. Existing laboratories and libraries will also be upgraded.[3]
The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced inLok Sabha byPrakash Javadekar,Minister of Human Resource Development, on 19 July 2016 to bring NIT inAndhra Pradesh under this act.[4] It was passed by Lok Sabha on 21 July 2016 and Rajya Sabha on 1 August 2016.[5]
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