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First IIT campus outside India to be set up in which country?
A)
Kenya
B)
Zimbabwe
C)
Tanzania
D)
South Africa

Correct Answer :   Tanzania


The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus to be set up outside India will be in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

* A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up a campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar was signed between the Ministry of Education, Government of India, IIT Madras and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training Zanzibar, Tanzania on July 5 2023, according to an official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

* The MoU was signed in the presence of Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar; programmes at the new campus could commence in October 2023.

* “This unique partnership will bring the top-ranked educational expertise of IIT Madras to a prime destination in Africa and serve the imperative current needs of the region. The academic programmes, curricula, student selection aspects and pedagogical details will be finalised by IIT Madras, whereas the capital and operating expenditure will be met by the Government of Zanzibar-Tanzania,” the release noted.

* The first IIT was formally established in India way back in 1951 in Kharagpur, West Bengal, following a report by a 22-member committee headed by industrialist and economist N R Sarkar that recommended the establishment of four higher technical institutions in the Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern regions, possibly on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, with a number of secondary institutions affiliated to it.

* These higher technical institutions were supposed to aid the post-war industrial development of India, according to a post by IIT Kharagpur. Over the years, the number of IITs have multiplied and at present there are 23 IITs all over India.

* IIT Madras degrees will be awarded to students enrolled in the Zanzibar campus. The state-of-the-art interdisciplinary degrees are expected to attract a diverse cohort and will include students from Africa and other countries as well, with Indian students also eligible to apply..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Published On : July 6, 2023
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