Kalam to join Nalanda Univ soon

The former president is likely to be appointed the first Visitor of the proposed Nalanda International University in Bihar by Sept.

Former president APJ Abdul Kalam is likely to be appointed the first Visitor of the proposed Nalanda International University in Bihar by September.

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"Kalam will be formally appointed the first Visitor of the proposed Nalanda University by next month after he accepts the offer of the state government," an official in the chief ministers' office said on Wednesday.

Official sources told IANS that Kalam would visit Bihar in September to assume his duties at the university. "The government is waiting for Kalam's written consent," an official said.

Kalam had agreed on Sunday to accept the offer of the state government, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who met Kalam in New Delhi, said.

Nitish Kumar had offered the post to Kalam last month.

The idea of the university was first mooted in the late 1990s, but it was Kalam's initiative in 2006 that gave shape to the project at the ancient site of Buddhist learning.