The government introduced a bill in Rajya Sabha to declare two institutes of food technology in Haryana and Tamil Nadu as institutions of national importance and enabling them to provide financial autonomy for starting new courses and research.
The National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019, introduced by Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in the Upper House, seeks to confer the status of ‘Institutions of National Importance’ to National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) at Kundli, Haryana, and the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu,
The bill aims to “declare certain institutions of food technology, entrepreneurship and management to be the institutions of national importance…”.
“This would enable the institutes to exercise the financial autonomy to start new innovative courses and to provide for instructions and research in food technology, entrepreneurship and management and for the advancement of learning and dissemination of knowledge in such branches,” the bill said in its statement of objects and reasons.
The two institutes, at present, are societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. These institutes are separate autonomous bodies exclusively on food processing sector aimed at developing best human resources with an objective of addressing the diverse needs and provide solutions to the challenges.
Earlier this month, the Union cabinet had approved the introduction of this Bill.
The institutes would implement the reservation policy of the government and would also undertake special outreach activities for the benefits of concerned stakeholders, an official statement had said.
Source: Business Standard
