Former EC chief to head ‘institutes of eminence’ selection panel

NEWDELHI: Former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami has been appointed chairperson of the empowered expert committee (EEC) that will select 20 “institutes of eminence”, which will be free from government regulations, an official familiar with the matter said.

The appointments committee of the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected the members and the chairperson, said the official who doesn’t want to be named.

According to officials, the EEC is expected to select the 20 institutes as early as this summer.

The four-member panel includes Renu Khator, who is the chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston.

Another member is Gurgaonbased Management Development Institute’s (MDI) R Pritam Singh,former director of IIM, Lucknow and MDI, Gurugram

The third member is Tarun Khanna, a Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School, where he is teaching since 1993 after his education in Princeton and Harvard. He has taught courses on strategy, corporate governance and international business to MBA and PHD students and senior executives.

The institutes of eminence scheme aims to project Indian institutes to global recognition. The selected institutes will enjoy academic and administrative autonomy.