Amartya Sen

Patna, July 6: Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, tasked with heading the governing body for the upcoming Nalanda International University, today said the institution would benefit Asian countries along with the whole nation.

“The university will not only benefit Bihar in particular but also help India and all Asian countries. It would be a major achievement for the state government and our nation,” Sen told The Telegraph.

The economist was fulsome in his praise for the Nitish Kumar government. “The role of the state government is praiseworthy. Though it is a joint venture, the initiative was first taken by the Bihar government.

The government is very supportive as they have provided land for educational purpose. They are very kind,” he said. Sen acknowledged the role of the Centre and other Asian nations.

“It is a fact that most of the money is coming from the government of India and there is also intensive support from Asian countries. But when we talk about Nalanda, it is known that Bihar is a great source of Indian civilisation and Nalanda is a reflection of that. I am delighted to say that the state government’s performance is really good and am happy to receive whatever support is given by them,” he said. The mentor group head had words of praise for Nitish as well. “He is giving all possible support to the university, I get along well with him. We did a study on Bihar’s education and identified certain areas and work is going on in that field,” he said.

Sen said the governing body members would visit Nalanda tomorrow for an assessment of the site, located just 10km away from the ruins of the ancient university.

The Nobel winner did not dwell too much on the delay in setting up the university.

“I would not like to talk about the reasons for the delay. We must understand one thing, that now we are getting enough support and finally the university is going to be set up through an Act of Parliament. A lot of procedures, legalities and financial assistance would have to be taken care of,” he said.

The mentor group is at present discussing the administrative measures to be taken, including appointment of teachers and strategy for early commencement of the course.

N.K. Singh, retired bureaucrat and member of the governing body, said their priority was to start the course as soon as possible.

“Nalanda will become an icon of Asian renaissance and the epicentre for knowledge. Our first priority is to start the course as soon as possible. If everything goes according to plan, the university should start functioning by early 2012,” he said, also a Rajya Sabha member.

Singh said information technology would be the first course that would take off since it does not require much infrastructure.

“A lot of administrative work has to be sorted out, only then can the university function with full potential. The government is playing a significant role,” he said.