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HYDERABAD : Japan seems to have deserted the
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bihar in favour of
IIT-Medak in Andhra Pradesh citing poor infrastructure and law and order in Bihar.
A three-member delegation including Mr Ryuji Sakaue, the head of the South-East Asian division in Japan’s ministry of foreign
affairs and Mr Rites Megan, vice-president, International University of Japan, visited Medak on May 2 and inspected the site
in Kandi village, where the IIT is coming up on a 537-acre stretch.
The delegation later visited the temporary campus at the ordnance factory in Medak district, where classes will begin from
the coming academic year. It inspected the progress of work related to the setting up classrooms, laboratories, hostels,
staff quarters and other facilities.
Japan has expressed its willingness to extend financial aid of up to Rs 4 crore to the institute.
The United Kingdom and the United States are looking at joining hands with one of the three new IITs to be established in
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, and official sources said those countries are also likely to work with IIT-Medak.
The UK and US are to provide monetary assistance to the institute they choose to collaborate with.
Though Japan had initially offered to assist the IIT in
Bihar -- the land of Buddha -- but it eventually dropped its
plans in favour of Medak, citing poor law and order conditions in Bihar. The Centre had proposed to Japan the idea of forging
a tie-up with the IIT in Bihar during the visit of the former Japanese prime minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, to India in August
2007.
“Mr Sakaue has conveyed to us that nearly 20 top universities from Japan are keen to collaborate with the new IIT in Medak,”
said Mr Ashutosh Mishra, principal secretary, higher education. “They are willing to assist the institute in research
projects and other academic activities.” He said the land acquisition process for the new IIT is at an advanced stage. “The
acquisition of land will be completed in the next two weeks and we are likely to hand over the land to the Union ministry of
human resources development by the end of May,” Mr Mishra said.
He said a delegation from India would visit Japan in July to finalise the modalities regarding financial assistance and other
collaborative initiatives offered by Japan. The delegation will comprise Prof. M.S. Ananth, director,
IIT-Medak, and Mr Sanjeev Sinha, director, UBS Investment Bank.
Mr Sinha is the mediator between the Indian and Japanese governments in
discussions to secure assistance for the new IITs.
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