Institute of National Importance (INI) is a recognition accorded to eminent institutes in the country by the Central Government. They feature in the news often and hence, it is important to know what INIs are and what benefits an institution gets if it is granted this status. In this article, you can read all about Institutes of National Importance and also get an updated list for the IAS Exam and other government exams.
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What is the Meaning of Institute of National Importance?
The Central Government grants the status of ‘Institute of National Importance’ to premier higher educational institutions in India through an act of the Parliament.
- According to the Ministry of Education, an institute of national importance is an institute that “serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state”.
- This definition was given in the repealed Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act, 1956 and the Indian Institutes of Technology Act, 1961.
- Such institutes get special funding and recognition from the Government of India.
- Section 22 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 gives ‘Degree Granting Status’ to such INIs established by an Act of Parliament for conferring or granting degrees.
- The first reference to ‘institute of national importance’ is given in the Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule; 63 – which says, “The institutions known at the commencement of this Constitution as the Benares Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the Delhi University; the University established in pursuance of article 371E; any other institution declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance.”
- Unfortunately, the criteria for awarding the status of ‘institute of national importance’ and the particular benefits institutions receive on getting this status are not mentioned in any document.
- It is observed that generally, such INIs operate outside the University Grants Commission’s ambit and enjoy certain advantages related to taxes.
- They are also largely supervised and funded by the Government of India through the Education Ministry (formerly the Ministry of Human Resources Development).
Also read: ARIIA Ranking 2020
Institute of National Importance List
In this section, we give you a brief list of the institutes of national importance. Please remember this is not an exhaustive list, only a few institutions are mentioned for the sake of information. For the detailed list, please visit the official website of the Minister of Education.
- IIT Delhi
- IIT Patna
- IIT Mumbai
- IIT Indore
- Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi
- IIT Roorkee
- School of Planning & Architecture Vijaywada
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna
- Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, West Bengal
- National Institute of Technology, Raipur
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi
- Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat
- National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
- National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
- National Institute of Technology, Calicut
- Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior
- School of Planning & Architecture Bhopal
- National Institute of Technology, Mizoram
- National Institute of Technology, Rourkela
- Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Tamil Nadu
- Indian Institute of Information Technology, Guwahati
- Indian Institute of Information Technology, Dharwad
- Indian Institute of Information Technology, Pune
- Nalanda University, Nalanda, Bihar
- National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad
- And more…
Currently, there are 130 institutions with the INI tag.
Institute of National Importance Benefits
Some of the benefits that INIs enjoy are listed below:
- Functional autonomy to enhance efficiency, quality and accountability.
- Increased funding.
- Have a better quality of education imparted, and improved research facilities.
- Faster decision-making capabilities.
- Minimal interference from the political executive.
- Such institutions might be able to provide more scholarships to the students.
- They can also provide more sports facilities, seminars, etc.
Get the List of Important International Institutions at the linked article for UPSC exam preparation.
What are Institutions of Eminence (IoEs)?
In the Union Budget 2016, the then Finance Minister had announced that “an enabling regulatory architecture” would be provided to 10 public and 10 private institutions so that they would emerge as “as world-class teaching and research institutions”. This announcement led to the establishment of Institutions of Eminence (IoEs). Such institutions would get heightened autonomy and substantial extra government funding in the case of public institutions. They would also enjoy better collaboration with global universities.
Some of the public institutions that have been granted IoE status are IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, Banaras Hindu University, etc. Some of the private institutions that have been awarded the IoE status include BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, Shiv Nadar University, and Uttar Pradesh among others.
UPSC aspirants can refer to the linked article and get the list of International Organizations and Their Headquarters for the upcoming exam preparation.
For the updated UPSC Syllabus for the prelims and mains examination of the upcoming Civil Services Exam, candidates can visit the linked article.
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