Bhubaneswar, April 23: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today gave his nod to accord university status to Rama Devi Autonomous Women's College in the city and cluster university status to Khallikote Autonomous College in Berhampur under the Rashtriya Uchhatar Siksha Abhiyan scheme.

The Union HRD ministry approved the proposal on January 1. However, it had been pending for chief minister's nod. "We received the chief minister's approval today, and the work will start immediately. Admissions will start for the academic year 2015-16," said higher education minister Pradip Panigrahi.

"The state government would do the needful in this direction shortly," he said.

The Rama Devi college will now be the first women's university in the state. All women's colleges affiliated under the Utkal University will now be brought under the new varsity.

The Khallikote cluster university will control colleges in the nearby areas, said the higher education minister.

The state government had demanded Rs 956 crore for various projects under the proposal, of which the Centre agreed to release Rs 200 crore.

The total cost of setting up the proposed women's university will be Rs 75 crore, of which the Union HRD ministry is bearing 65 per cent.

In the first phase, the Centre would release Rs 55 crore each for these two new universities in three years. "In the first year, the colleges will receive Rs 18.3 crore," said the minister. Besides the two universities, proposals for upgrading the infrastructure of the Berhampur University, Sambalpur University, BPUT and the VSSUT have also been accepted.

The state government has also decided to introduce more courses in these two new universities. Once the process is over, the Rama Devi University would be the country's second women's university after the Shreemati Nathibai Thackersey Women's University in Mumbai.