Inauguration of IITs left dangling after cabinet reshuffle

Changes to the council of ministers at the centre has left the inauguration of two premier institutes in jeopardy. While former HRD Minister Smriti Irani had initially confirmed her presence for the inaugurating two of the newest campuses of the Indian Institutes of technology (IITs), a change in her portfolio now means the institutes are yet to get confirmation from the new HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Changes to the council of ministers at the centre has left the inauguration of two premier institutes in jeopardy. While former HRD Minister Smriti Irani had initially confirmed her presence for the inaugurating two of the newest campuses of the Indian Institutes of technology (IITs), a change in her portfolio now means the institutes are yet to get confirmation from the new HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.

At present, both the institutes at Goa and Dharwad will be mentored by IIT-Bombay, (HT FILE)

Two of the newest entrants to the list of IITs, IIT-Goa as well as IIT-Dharwad are scheduled to be inaugurated on July 30 and 31 respectively. “All other aspects of the event have been confirmed but we are still waiting to get an official statement from Prakash Javadekar’s office. We hope this comes through before the event,” said an official from the institute.

This year, four new institutes made their way into the IIT’s admission process, taking the total count to 22 IITs with over 10,500 seats to offer. These include campuses in Goa, Dharwad, Jammu and Bhilai (Chhattisgarh). At present, both the institutes at Goa and Dharwad will be mentored by IIT-Bombay, whereas IIT-Jammu will be mentored by IIT-Delhi and IIT-Bhilai will be under the wings of IIT-Hyderabad.

“The original plan was to hold inaugurations to both the institutes on the same day, but looking at logistics and after getting confirmation from Smriti Irani about her presence on both days, we decided to conduct separate events. While we have got an oral confirmation from Prakash Javadekar’s office, we need a written confirmation to go ahead with the invitations,” added an official from IIT-B.