The Hindu Business Line : India asks Canada to invest in education sector

OTTAWA: India on Saturday asked Canada to share its knowledge and make investment in education sector as the country is embarking on a major expansion of its higher learning infrastructure by investing Rs 85,000 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan perio d.

"India is on verge of a 'knowledge revolution' and if both countries work together in this field, and Canada shares its excellence in higher learning with India, it will go a long way in strengthening bilateral relations,'' Mr R P Aggarwal, Higher Educat ion Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, said while addressing the annual meeting of board of directors of Indo-Canadian Shastri Institute here, attended by senior officials of both the countries. He said that during the 11th Plan, t he Government proposed to set up 30 central universities, eight IITs and 10 National Institutes of Technologies.

Mr Aggarwal said 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), seven IIMs and two Schools of Planning and Architecture would also be set up. The central assistance would be pr ovided for 1,000 polytechnic institutes -- 300 in public-private partnership mode and 400 in the private sector. The aim of the Government was also to take care of infrastructure and faculty shortages that hamper education at present, he said. Mr Aggarw al said the Government also aims to provide 10-dollar laptops to students so that they can benefit from the telecommunication revolution.

Efforts and research in this direction are on at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. - PTI

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