The government is planning to set up seven more IIMs and three new IITs in the next five years at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore. Aimed at supporting the globalisation of Indian industry, the government has also drawn up a plan to set up 20 more NITs to meet the growing manpower requirement of the industry.

The exact locations for these leading institutions would be worked out by the Planning Commission and the ministry of human resource development.

Furthermore, plans are afoot to formulate a ?positive policy? to encourage top class foreign universities and institutions to set up collaborative institutions in the country through public and private partnerships and offer degrees and diplomas of same quality and standards of education as in their own countries.

According to a blueprint presented by the Planning Commission to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, centralised entrance admissions are to be introduced for all the central universities (CUs) including the Delhi University. The government might also shift the present annual exam system to a uniform semester system in all the CUs in the current Plan period.

The change is expected to allow students enhanced mobility across institutions as they will be able to apply in all universities across the country through a Common Entrance Test (CET) which will be similar to the Common Admission Test (CAT) and JEE (joint entrance examination) held for admissions in IIMs and IITs.

The Commission has projected a fund requirement of Rs 1,32,000 crore for setting up 30 CUs, three IITs, seven IIMs, 20 NITs, five Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and Indian Institute of Information Technologies (IIITs) and two schools of planning and architecture (SPA) during 2007-14.

A centrally sponsored scheme or additional central assistance would be worked out to provide the finances.

The issues were to be finalised at the meeting of the full Planning Commission scheduled for August 6 but has now been deferred as the Commission and the HRD ministry failed to reach a consensus on many of the proposals.