Parl panel slams MoD for delay in setting up defence university

Ajay Banerjee

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New Delhi, February 9

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, in its report to the House has ‘expressed concern’ over the inordinate delay in setting up Indian National Defence University (INDU) and recommend that it may be set up at the earliest.

Varsity idea mooted 57 years ago

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament said it was “disappointed to note that 57 years after it was first mooted, and over seven years after the Indian National Defence University Bill, 2015, was made available for public consultation, the university has still not been established”

The committee has noted that post-Kargil War, deficiencies in India’s security management system envisioned such a defence university. The Kargil Review Committee recommended setting it up.

After several years of deliberation, in May 2012, the Cabinet approved setting up of INDU. The committee said land for the university was acquired in September 2012 at a cost of Rs 164.62 crore. The proposal was revised in February 2015 thereby enhancing the scope of the project. “However, the revised proposal for establishment of the university was still pending with the Ministry of Defence.” the report said. “The entire process of setting up INDU has been beset by delays owing to extensive deliberations for several years without any concrete results,” the report of the committee said.

A Group of Ministers reviewed the entire spectrum of defence management. Thereafter, a committee was set up to ‘examine’ establishment of INDU in India. A ‘project formulation team’ was created and it continues to operate till date with recurring expenses on pay and allowances of staff deployed but without any tangible results on ground.

The parliamentary committee said it was “disappointed to note that 57 years after it was first mooted, and over seven years after the Indian National Defence University Bill, 2015, was made available for public consultation, the university has still not been established”.

The report recommended that INDU may be established with world-class infrastructure, learned faculty, and idea and content developers to match up to similar institutions on the global arena.

The report asked the existing committee to submit its report urgently to enable an early decision in the matter. Such an autonomous institution of national importance was first mooted by the Chief of Staff Committee in 1967 and again endorsed by the Lt Gen Sethna Committee in 1982.