The Reliance Jio Institute’s selection for the list of India’s Institution of Eminence has outburst a controversy among opposition against government’s decision of including an institute which does not even exist. The government is being criticized for lending favour to Reliance Jio Institute. Though, the HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has claimed that the list was prepared by an expert panel and the government is not liable for it.
Last month six higher education institutions including Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, Indian Institutes of Technology Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, BITS Pilani and the proposed Jio Institutes of the Reliance Foundation have been selected for the list of India’s Institutions of Eminence. The Jio Institute in Maharashtra is one of the three private institutions selected for the Greenfield category.
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Now it is discovered that even before naming these institutions for the list, the issue became a bone of contention within the government which also became a reason for its delay. According to a report in Indian Express, the UGC’s draft regulations of Institutions of Eminence list were sent back and forth for almost nine months from December 2015 to September 2016. The major dissension in between the HRD & Finance Ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office was on financial commitment, penalties, land availability, and expertise.
