Petroleum and Energy institute to be set up in AP

THE INSTITUTE WILL HAVE A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AS WELL AS LEGAL MANDATE TO GRANT DEGREES IN A MANNER SIMILAR TO THAT ENJOYED BY IITS

The Union Cabinet last week approved the setting up of an Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of over Rs 655 crore, fulfilling the commitment made to the state when Telangana was separated from it.

The Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved setting IIPE as ‘an Institute of National Importance’ through an Act of Parliament. “The Institute will have the governance structure as well as legal mandate to grant degrees in a manner similar to that enjoyed by IITS,” an official statement said.

A separate Act will also impart the required status to the institute to become a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in petroleum and energy studies.

The Cabinet also approved Rs 655.46 crore as capital expenditure to set up Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy and contribution of Rs 200 crore towards its Endowment Fund.

This will be in addition to a contribution of Rs 200 crore from oil companies towards the Endowment Fund.

The Centre had promised a petroleum university as part of the package to Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was split from it

Andhra Pradesh has allocated 200 acres of land, free of cost, for setting up of IIPE at Sabbavaram Mandal in the district of Visa khapatnam.

A temporary campus of IIPE has been set up from the aca demic session 2016-17 at the Andhra University campus. It will have two undergraduate programmes in petroleum engi neering and chemical engineer ing. Each of them will have a capacity of 50 students.

Iit-kharagpur has taken up the responsibility of mentoring the institute .

“The objective is to meet the quantitative and qualitative gap in the supply of skilled man power for the petroleum sector and to promote research activi ties needed for the growth of the sector,” said the statement.