The country will have the first all-women university and first-ever aviation university in Rae Bareli, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency. They will be named after the former Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the formation of the universities, which will be formed after the passage of respective Bills in the monsoon session of Parliament.
To be created at approximately Rs. 500 crore in the 12th Plan period, the Indira Gandhi National University for Women would “set the pace for all-round growth and development of women in the country and supplement the efforts of the government for women’s empowerment by giving them an increased access to employment-oriented basic courses and high end research,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters after the Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Of the total population of the country at 121 crore, there are 58.6 crore women. Of them, 9.5 crore are in Uttar Pradesh.
Aviation university
The Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University will be established as a Central University and as an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation at an estimated cost of Rs. 202 crore in Phase-l (2013-14 to 2018-19) on the land available with Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy (IGRUA), a society set up as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation) in the district.
About 26.35 acres available with IGRUA has been identified for setting up the university in its first phase.
The Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation Bill 2013 also seeks to create a post of vice- chancellor by selection through a search and selection committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary with members representing the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Personnel & Training and Human Resource Development and for creation of a temporary post in the grade of Joint secretary to the Government of India for the position of Project Director, which would be filled up on deputation basis.
A skilled and competent workforce was essential to create a safe and efficient aviation industry. Despite many private institutions providing education and training in aviation, there is general consensus amongst stakeholders that the number of programmes offered, depth of course content and infrastructure facilities available with them are not sufficient to meet the industry requirements.
The aviation university is, therefore, necessary to cater to the growing educational and training requirements of the civil aviation sector, a statement issued by the government said. The university aims to facilitate and promote aviation studies, teaching, training and research with focus on emerging areas of studies such as aviation management, regulation and policy, history, science and engineering, law, safety and security and aviation medicine, search and rescue, transportation of dangerous goods, environmental studies and other related fields, and also to achieve excellence in these and connected fields in emerging areas and such areas as may emerge in future.
