Institution of Eminence

News: The Ministry of Human Resource and Development has awarded the status of Institute of Eminence to five public institutions

Facts:

• Institutions awarded with status of Institute of Eminence:
  • IIT-Madras,
  • IIT-Kharagpur,
  • Delhi University,
  • Benares Hindu University
  • University of Hyderabad

About Institution of Eminence (IoE) Scheme

• First announced in 2016 Budget speech, the Institution of Eminence scheme is a scheme of Ministry of Human Resource Development pertaining to higher education institutions (HES) in India
• Aim: To develop 20 world-class teaching and research institutions
• Objectives:
  • To bring higher educational institutions selected as IoEs in top 500 of world ranking in the next 10 years and in top 100 eventually overtime
  • To provide world class teaching and research facilities to Indian students within the country and enhance general level of education.
  • To pay special attention to teaching and research in unique and emerging areas of knowledge          
• Regulatory framework: It has been provided through
  • UGC (Declaration of Government Institutions as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017 for public Institutions and
  • UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2017 for private Institutions.

Key Benefits of Institutions of Eminence

• Government Institutions to get additional funding up to 1000 Cr.
• Complete academic, administrative and financial autonomy
• Exemption from government approvals for academic collaborations with foreign HES (in top 500)
• Freedom to hire personnel from industry as faculty, and recruit faculty from outside India (25% limit of its faculty strength)
• Freedom to have own transparent merit based system for admission of students.
• Will not be subjected to UGC Inspections

Current Status of scheme: Earlier 6 institutions were selected as IoEs:

• Public Category
  • Indian Institute of Sciencee (IISc), Bangalore
  • IIT Delhi
  • IIT Mumbai
• Private Category
  • Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal
  • Birla Institute of Technology& Sciences (BITS), Pilani
  • Jio Institute under the Greenfield category.