- The government has passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) bill in the Rajya Sabha.
- The bill will confer the status of National Importance to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) — Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur.
- Institutes will now be able to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (BTech) or Master of Technology (MTech) or PhD degree.
- These IIITs are already functioning as societies registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
- They will now be covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017, similar to the other 15 IIITs established under the scheme in PPP mode.
