NEW DELHI: The HRD Ministry has accepted a proposal by an empowered expert committee under former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami to grant Institute of Eminence (IoE) tags to 30 instead of 20 institutes, as originally proposed.
The ministry has already prepared a cabinet note to this effect which will be circulated to all ministries before it is taken up for approval next month. The final declaration on the institutes is likely by July 31.
Last year, based on recommendations by the expert panel, the government had announced IoE status for the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Indian Institutes of Technology in Bombay and Delhi.
Private institutes granted the tag included Manipal University, BITS-Pilani and the yet-to-be-started Jio Institute.
The selection of Jio had caused uproar as it was seen as a way of exempting the proposed institution from regulatory processes, an advantage that the IoE status brings.
“The recommendations have been approved and will soon be announced after the Cabinet stamp,” a senior HRD Ministry official said
As part of the new list, the committee has proposed IoE tags for IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Kolkata for outstanding sectoral institutions in management studies.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Punjab Agriculture University were selected in the field of agricultural studies.