NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced on January 16 that Delhi will soon have a technical university exclusively for women.

She said that the existing technical college -- Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology, currently a part of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIP) -- would soon be upgraded into a full-fledged university.

The announcement was made after the Delhi Cabinet formally approved the draft of Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University Bill, 2012, which will now be placed in the Assembly's budget session.

“The Indira Gandhi Institute has attained a level of maturity and has made rich contribution to the growth of quality technical education and research among women during last 12 years. Since 85% seats in the institute are reserved for Delhi girls, it has also given them better placement and career opportunities.

We now want to upgrade it to meet the growing needs of the industry for relevant technology and product innovation,“ Dikshit told reporters.

Dikshit said Delhi would be the first state to have an exclusive technical university for women. “It will also facilitate additional enrollment of women in
technological courses as parents are often reluctant to send their daughters outside Delhi for higher education. We expect that student strength will
increase to almost two times the current strength in the next few years,“ Dikshit said.

A senior technical education official said the upgrade of the institute would provide an opportunity for accelerated growth of women in technical education, technology incubation and product innovation vital for women empowerment.