Updated on: Saturday, August 29, 2009
New Delhi: The Govt said ,decision on making class X CBSE examination optional is 'almost complete' and it will be announced soon.
'The consultation is almost complete and as soon it is over, we will announce the Government's decision,' HRD Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here.
On the Government's decision to provide full interest subsidy on education loans to students from economically weaker sections, he said the move would help 'lakhs of students' to pursue technical and professional courses from recognised institutes.
The scheme would be be applicable from the ongoing academic year.
The Government today also gave its nod to seeting up seven more IIMs in the country, four of which will come up in the first phase in Raipur, Rohtak, Ranchi and Tiruchirapalli and impart executive programmes to begin with.
The other states where the IIMs will come up in the second phase are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
According to Ministry sources, in the first phase there would be an intake of 140 students while in the second phase 560 students will be admitted every year.
Initially, the institutes would start functioning from temporary premises for which Rs 6.10 crore has been allocated to each institute.
The governments of Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Haryana, where the institutes are coming up in the first phase, have already identified the land and it would be provided free of cost, the sources said.
Chhattisgarh Government has identified about 200 acres for the Raipur campus while the Haryana Government has marked 170 acres for its Rohtak campus. Similarly, the Tamil Nadu Government has identified 192.35 acres for the Tirchurapalli campus and Jharkhand Government has finalised 214.29 acres for the Ranchi campus, the sources said.