Nalanda University News Updates, Nalanda University Blog

Dr Gopa Sabharwal, Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University, talks to Sarika Malhotra about the setting up of the new Nalanda University, a truly international institution of higher learning, and a place where new knowledge emerges. According to Sabharwal, the biggest challenge is to establish a Nalanda for our times, keeping in mind the heritage of its illustrious predecessor. She says that like the old university, the new campus will be built in such a manner that it is in harmony with its surroundings. The design includes thick walls to prevent the heat from penetrating inside, and a water body at the center.

Q. What is the projected cost for the 450-acre university?

A. The projected cost for the development of the university is Rs 2,727.10 crore - Rs 1,749.65 crore as the capital expenditure for development of infrastructure, and Rs 977.45 crore as the running cost (recurring expenditure) for the 2014/15 to 2021/22 period.

Q. In terms of funding, what is the contribution of the Union a…

Governor Vajubhai Vala has said that India is a repository of knowledge and has been recognised the world over as a knowledge destination even in ancient times. “Nalanda and Takshashila Universities were centres of knowledge where the Vedas, Upanishads, and the Bhagawad Gita were learnt and researched,” he said here on Friday.

He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day conference on ‘Emerging technologies and future of libraries: issues and challenges’ at Gulbarga University. Mr. Vala said that although he does not want to belittle the contribution of other religions to the field of literature, he was proud to say that Hinduism’s contribution to the world of literature was immense and the works and teachers of saints like Sankaracharya, Buddha, Mahavira, Madhwacharya and Mahatma Gandhi could not be matched.

Earlier, Mr. Vala asked the organisers to remove the “Maharaja” chair on the dais kept for him and preferred to sit in a normal chair. Also, he more than once interrupted the orga…

India’s Nalanda International University, which is being built close to the site of Asia’s ancient Buddhist centre of higher education, will be a global institution focusing on research, pan-Asian integration, sustainable development and the revival of Oriental languages. At the same time, it will study local issues of environment, agriculture and livelihoods.

Member of Parliament Nand Kishore Singh, who is a member of Nalanda’s governing body, said the university – which will admit its first intake in 2014 – will balance local and global research goals.

“A study and revival of Oriental languages and translation of several manuscripts will enable us to understand cross-cultural experiences which governed India and Asia long before globalisation,” said Singh, speaking at the “One Globe 2013: Uniting knowledge communities” conference on global education in South Asia, held in New Delhi from 7-8 February.

Studying the past will help Asian countries realise how well integrated Asia used to …

Which Indian institute of higher education enjoys the highest esteem in the world? Most people would say it’s a close race between the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian Institutes of Technology. For decades, these state-funded schools have produced the sort of highly skilled, motivated and competitive graduate—usually from a middle-class background—who promptly leaves for big things in America, where, to use the language of the Indian family, he or she “makes us and India proud.” Even so, one Indian university has an aura that far exceeds that of any other. And although the school is itself extinct, it continues to embody the virtues traditionally associated with a university education: a love of knowledge for its own sake; an ability to frame a question from different points of view; a passion for formulating new answers to the great questions after making a thorough study of a tradition. The name has echoed around India and the world for well over a thousand years: Nal…

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised Rs 10 crore for the construction of Nalanda Buddhist University, comining up at Jyothigowdanapura, near here, during the first Karnataka State Buddhist Convention held here, on Sunday.

Speaking at the programme, he said, the State government would also allot 50 acres of land for the proposed varsity. All disputes related to the land, where the varsity will come up, will be sorted out, he said.

He said, he was against declaring holidays to mark the birth anniversaries of social reformers. Therefore, the State government will not declare a holiday on account of Buddha Poornima, he said.“At present, terrorism and Naxalism are on a rise. Humane values propounded in Buddhism can provide an answer in controlling them,” he said.

Re-conversion
MP Mallikarjuna Kharge said, the Constitution has given rights for citizens to follow the religion of their choice. However, cases of forceful re-conversion in the country are on a rise, he said.

He said, …

The next batch of Nalanda University (NU) students will have to shell out much less than the pioneering batch as the university's governing board has cut the tuition fee for post-graduation courses from Rs three lakh to Rs 58,000 per annum.

Interacting with the media at the Patna airport after a two-day board meeting at Rajgir, NU chancellor Amartya Sen on Wednesday said fee revision was aimed at accommodating more talented students from economically average or weaker bac grounds.

"I'd expressed concern in this regard earlier too. After much debate and discussions, we agreed to put it at Rs 58,000 or about US $1,000 on the lines of South Asia University in Delhi," Sen said, adding he was happy with the functioning of the varsity so far.

Sen admitted the board was initially not quite alert while deciding the fee. But, vice-chancellor Gopa Sabharwal and the varsity dean received a number of letters from students saying they were interested in studying at NU but the fe…