The Andhra Pradesh Government has approved a bill to establish the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies -- a venture that will enable students to adapt to the demands of the work place, acquire adequate soft skills and run integrated educational programmes with the help of a broad professional education at par with the best international universities.

The state cabinet on Friday cleared the bill to replace an ordinance for the establishment of the university with its headquarters at Idupulapaya, Kadapa District, along with three constituent institutes, one each at Basar in Telangana, Nuziveedu in Coastal Andhra and Idupulapaya in Rayalaseema. The government has identified lands at Basar in Adilabad District, Nuziveedu in Krishna District and Idupulapaya in Kadapa District and initiated necessary action for the construction of the institutes at these places. These institutes are expected to commence courses during the academic year 2008-09.

Information and Public Relations Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy said that these institutes would cater primarily to the educational needs of meritorious rural students in Andhra Pradesh. "The key objective of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies is to disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in information technology, engineering and other branches of learning; in particular, to make special provisions for integrated courses in humanities and social sciences in educational programmes; and to take appropriate measures for promoting interdisciplinary studies and research in the constituent institutes," he added.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the front-ranking states in the field of IT and ITeS, contributing a major share to software exports from the country. There is an increasing demand for engineering graduates with IT skills and IT graduates with domain specialisation. "Day by day the demand-supply gap is increasing rapidly. On the other hand, the opportunities for rural students in these emerging fields are significantly inadequate compared to their urban counterparts," the Minister pointed out.

As these Institutes are expected to commence courses during the next academic year, ie 2008-09, Ordinance No 17 of 2007 was promulgated to provide for the establishment of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies on December 22. The AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), as overall supervisor for these institutes, signed an MoU with the AP Health Medical Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APHMHIDC), Hyderabad for construction of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies and the three constituent institutes at Basara, Nuziveedu and Idupulapaya.

APHMHIDC submitted a preliminary report for construction of buildings for the three institutes with an estimated cost of Rs 982 crores for each institute (Rs.2,946 crores for the three) and proposed to take up the project in a phased manner, keeping in view the fact that the first academic session would begin by 2008-09.

The government has provided an initial allocation of Rs 15 crores for the year 2007-08. Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy laid foundation stones for the institutes at Nuziveedu, Idupulapaya and Basar.