Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore in its world-class university -- Jio Institute in next two years. The company has informed the government's Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) about its proposed project.
The Jio Institute, Ambani's ambitious project to create a world-class center of learning, was being planned to be built on 800 acres in Karjat outside Mumbai i.e Navi Mumbai.
According to the reports of The Economic Times, the Indian conglomerate said to the government that he is in discussion with the academic and institutional experts from renowned universities like America's Stanford University, Northwestern University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore for establishing world-class facilities at his institute.
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Reliance Foundation's Jio Institute along with other five institutes has been selected under as Institutions of Eminence - a status that will ensure complete autonomy and facilitate them to make a mark in global rankings.
The other five institutions were Indian Institute of Science- Bangalore, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (known as BITS-Pilani) and Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
Ambanis' Jio University was the only Greenfield institute chosen as an Institute of Eminence by the NDA government in 2018. It came into controversy after many people and academicians questioned the government for selecting it as an Institute of Eminence when it doesn't even exist.
After this in April, EEC which is the monitoring authority for all Institutes of Eminence asked the Jio Team about the developments in the project and voiced its displeasure.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development also came out on how Jio Institute was accorded such a coveted status despite having no physical infrastructure in place. The committee had then explained that Jio Institute was given this tag under Greenfield Project - purpose to allow responsible private investment to build world-class educational infrastructure.
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The HRD ministry had said, "The Committee (selection committee) has come to a conclusion that out of the 11 applications, only Jio Institute satisfied all the four parameters, and hence was recommended for issuing a letter of intent for setting up an Institute of Eminence."
It told that the Varsity technically accomplishes all four parameters on which all applications were judged. These parameters were -- i) availability of land for construction of the institution, ii) putting in place a core team with very high qualification and wide experience, iii) making available funding for setting up the institution and iv) a strategic vision plan with clear annual milestone and action plan. However, the Jio Institute will not be getting any funding form the government.
