No IIM for Jammu and Kashmir now

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New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir will not get an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) as proposed earlier, the human resource development (HRD) ministry said Friday. The decision was taken a day after the ministry awarded two central universities to Jammu and Kashmir, that has been fighting over the location of the varsity. "It has been decided to drop the proposal for the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management in Jammu and Kashmir," a ministry official said. According to ministry sources, the plan for an IIM was dropped as there was a lot of "internal politics" and civil society's feud between the two regions of the state, Jammu and the Kashmir valley, over the location of the central university. The ministry decided to do away with the proposed IIM and "instead use the savings for the establishment of a second appropriate central university in the state". There have been several rounds of protest over the last few months in Jammu and the valley, with people seeking the central university in their region. The ministry said that in view of the special status of the border state, which has separate regions with distinct geographical, social, cultural and ethnic characteristics, the central government has decided to establish, as a special dispensation, two appropriate central universities - one in Jammu region and another in the Kashmir valley. "It is expected that this will meet the regional aspirations in the state. The government proposes to undertake appropriate legislative measures in this regard shortly. "The two varsities will have instructional and research facilities in emerging branches of learning like IT, biotechnology, nanosciences, etc., setting exemplary standards of education for the other universities in the State to emulate," the ministry added.
Source: IANS
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