The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the Nalanda University Bill 2010, paving the way for the establishment of Nalanda University at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,005 crore. The bill will be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament.
The bill has been drafted by the Ministry of External Affairs, following a consensus arrived at the East Asia Summit held in Thailand in October last.
A project office has been leased in the city for the proposed university. The Nalanda Mentor Group, chaired by Professor Amartya Sen, will draft the statutes for the university.
The proposed university will have schools of Buddhist Studies; Philosophy and Comparative Religions; Historical Studies; International Relations and Peace Studies; Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies; Languages and Literature; and Ecology and Environmental Studies.
India, as the host country, will make a significant contribution at the initial stage. The Planning Commission has allocated Rs. 50 crore as endowment fund in the form of special grant for the commencement of activities, and till such time the university becomes sustainable on its own, it will function as a public-private partnership.
The Bihar government has acquired 500 acres of land in Rajgir, in the vicinity of the original Nalanda University site. It is proposed to get another 500 acres.
The establishment of the university would facilitate the revival of Nalanda as a centre of excellence in East Asia and South Asia, reflecting in some measure the role played by the historic institution. The revival of the university will lead to the formation of Buddhist circuits in India, thereby benefitting the tourism industry substantially.
In addition to scholars and students from all over the world, the establishment of the university would benefit the local people and encourage their participation. For this purpose, the university would associate with the 200-odd villages that had a connection with the Nalanda University from days of the yore.
The Nalanda Mentor Group, constituted in June 2007, shall exercise powers as the Interim Governing Board for one year or till such time that the members of the Governing Board were nominated. The Visitor of the university shall be the President of India or any other person who may be appointed by the President.
