Rajshekhar (left) hands over the documents to Ashok Tripathy in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, March 20: The Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst of India (ICFAI) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government for establishing a university on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

The proposed institution will be the third private university in the offing in the state after Vedanta University and Sri Sri University of Art of Living.

The MoU was signed between higher education secretary Ashok Tripathy on behalf of the state government and N. Rajshekhar, the dean of New Initiative Group, ICFAI, representing the Hyderabad-based institute. Industries minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, along with higher education minister Samir Dey, IT minister Surya Narayan Patro, finance minister Prafulla Ghadei and chief secretary Ajit Tripathy, was also present on the occasion.

ICFAI group proposes to invest over Rs 150 crore for the proposed university. About 75 acres of land has been identified near Jatni road on the outskirts of the capital city for construction of its university campus, said Rajsekhar after signing the MoU.

To start with, the university will offer engineering and management courses and the enrolment will commence from 2008, he added.

“Admissions will be based on merit through a transparent procedure. Neither management nor NRI quotas or even donations and capitation fees will be there,” said Rajshekhar.

Higher education minister Dey said the university will help in developing human resources required for rapidly growing IT and BPO sectors.

A draft umbrella legislation, sources said, to facilitate establishment and regulation of private universities was under the examination of law department. Earlier, ICFAI had submitted a draft bill to the government.

States like Uttaranchal, Tripura, Sikkim, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland have already passed legislations facilitating the establishment of the ICFAI universities.

Chattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have already issued letters of intent to ICFAI to set up the universities in their states, ICFAI officials added.