The advent of year 2011 has been on a very positive note with the Ministry's recent initiative to liberalize higher education sector. The initiatives are very much in consonance with the FICCI Recommendations on the Regulatory Framework for Technical Education submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in February 2008 (click here to view)
The Ministry's major reform initiatives on Technical Education are as following;

• Allowing Section 25 of Companies Act, 1956 to set up technical institutions, an alternative structure to Trusts and Societies, which supports better governance and quality improvement.
  
• Pushing for 'self-disclosure' norms in the Institutions to improve governance and bring in transparency.
  
• Creating norms for allowing institutions to increase the number of courses and programs thereby addressing the issue of expansion ( All institutions which have completed more than one batch will be eligible to get two courses and programmes, Ministry has announced)
  
• The earlier cap which did not permit any increase after an intake of 540 students have now been removed
  
• Relaxing land requirement for setting up institutions from 3.5 acres to 2.5 acres in urban areas
  
• Allowing institutions to start up post graduate programmes even without having the undergraduate teaching.
  
• To address the issue of inclusion, the Ministry has asked technical institutions to reserve 5% seats for economically disadvantaged but meritorious students

Please find FICCI Press Release on the Ministry's recent initiative to liberalize higher education sector, January 3, 2011 (click here to view Press Release)