Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on August 1, 2022 introduced the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill in the Parliament.
Key highlights
- The bill seeks to convert the National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI), a deemed-to-be university, into the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, an autonomous Central university.
- The Bill seeks to expand the scope of the university from beyond just the Railways to cover the entire transport sector and support growth and modernisation in the field.
- The new university, once the Bill clears both Houses of Parliament, will be funded and administered by the Ministry of Railways.
- The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009, inter alia, to provide for the establishment of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya as a body corporate under the said Act.
About Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya
- The establishment of the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya would address the need for talent in the strategically important and expanding transportation sector and meet the demand for trained talent to fuel the growth and expansion of the sector.
- The proposed university will reverse brain drain and create critical capability and capacity by developing master’s and doctoral degrees in transportation, go a long way in making the nation self-reliant in the transportation sector through its programmes for skilling and digitising India.
- The university would carry out critically-needed research and development by creating innovative technologies to encourage local manufacturing and substitute the imports of expensive technology, equipment and products.
