Route foreign funding through MEA: HRD ministry

There was also a session on a ‘single Act for central universities’ based on the A M Pathan committee report.

In a bid to ensure a level playing field with foreign entities funding central universities in the country, the HRD Ministry has said all such funding should be routed through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The issue came up during a two-day retreat of vice-chancellors of 39 central universities chaired by HRD Minister Smriti Irani in Chandigarh, which ended Saturday.

According to sources, during a discussion on ‘mobilising external sources of funding’, some V-Cs inquired about the role and logistics of foreign funding. The ministry, it is learnt, said universities must exercise caution since some clauses in MoUs signed with foreign entities are often not in favour of Indian universities or the country. To overcome this, the ministry proposed that all such funding be routed through the MEA.

There was also a session on a ‘single Act for central universities’ based on the A M Pathan committee report. The ministry said it was open to the idea, but more work was needed on the issue.

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