There is good news for students wanting to take up designing as a profession. The government will set up four new National Institutes of Design (NID) across the country in the coming four years.
This will cost Rs 540 crore to the exchequer but will increase the number of seats by approximately by 2,000. The new institutes will come up in Hyderabad, Kanpur, Bhopal and Jorhat during the 12 Plan.
"Design plays an important role in making the industry competitive. So, we need to foster design education. Thus, four new National Institutes of Design will be set up in four cities," Subhash Chandra, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said.
The States concerned are providing about 30 acres of land to set up campuses. Each institute would impart training to 500 students every year.
The National Institute of Design functions as an autonomous body under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Ministry of Commerce and Industry). At present, the main NID campus is at Ahmedabad with two more campuses, one at Gandhinagar and another at Bangalore.
The aim is to expand design education to other countries having similar socio-economic life styles as India. There is also a proposal to convert NID into a Centre of Excellence.
The NID at Ahmedabad was started in 1961. It was in 1955 that Pupul Jayakar, the noted writer on Indian craft traditions and the founder of the Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation of India (HHEC) met the renowned American designer Charles Eames at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Museum had organised a unique exhibition titled ‘The Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India’ where the concept of establishing such an institute in India originated.
The government with the assistance of the Ford Foundation and the Sarabhai family established the National Institute of Industrial Design, as it was originally called an autonomous all-India body in September 1961 at Ahmedabad. Gautam Sarabhai and his sister Gira played a major role in the establishment and early years of NID.
Today, the NID is internationally acclaimed as one of the finest educational and research institutions for Industrial, Communication, Textile and IT Integrated (Experiential) Design. It is an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and is recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
The Institute offers professional education programmes at Undergraduate and Post Graduate level with five faculty streams and 17 diverse design domains. The NID has established exchange programmes and ongoing pedagogic relationships with over 38 overseas institutions and has also been playing a significant role in promoting design.
