BU to start School of Economics on campus

BANGALORE: Bangalore University (BU) received an Rs100 crore investment from Jindal Aluminium Ltd. for the establishment of the much-anticipated School of Economics. The autonomous Dr Sitaram Jindal School of Economics will be established in BU’s Jnana Bharathi campus, and the project is due to be completed in 5 years. An official letter by Jindal Aluminium Ltd written to the Vice-Chancellor of BU Dr N Prabhu Dev, stated that the payment of Rs 100 crore is towards University getting necessary approval under the Income Tax Act. Several other conditions have been set by the investor in relation to the construction and functioning of the institute, whose initial name was proposed as Bangalore School of Economics.“The University will provide design and layout to the building. It is good that the investor will identify a civil contractor. We have problems with the University engineer. If we were to undertake construction, it would go on for years. This will make it faster,” the V-C told Express. Apart from appointing a civil contractor, Jindal Aluminium Ltd will also negotiate the rates and will have control over the payment. The appointed architect, according to another condition, will be under the purview of the investor. Confirming the involvement of Mohandas Pai, the V-C said,“Yes, he (Pai) was with us in all the 12 meetings held with the investor. He will be co-chairing the institute.” A draft of the proposed institute and the final report will be ready by November 10th, which will be submitted to the Governor, the VC added. Stubbing questions about conflict of interests between the investor and BU over the conditions set, the V-C said that there is complete agreement over some conditions, while others are subject to further discussions. “The name of the institute will be discussed further, but it is obvious that the investor would want to have his name featured after making such an investment,” he explained. A construction committee will be formed to oversee the progress of the institute’s establishment. “Decision of our nominee in the construction will be final and binding,” reads one condition set by Jindal Aluminium Ltd. Also, one of the members of the Management Committee of the institute will be a nominee from the investor. A 4-year BS (Economics) course has been proposed for the institute on the pattern similar to the courses offered by London School of Economics.