The Government of India has passed the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) bill in the Rajya Sabha. The bill will confer the status of National Importance to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) — Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur. The said Bill has already been passed by Lok Sabha in the previous session on March 20, 2020. The Bill was introduced in the Upper House by Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and was passed on Tuesday.

These IIITs are already functioning as societies registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. They will now be covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017, similar to the other 15 IIITs established under the scheme in PPP mode.

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in his tweet mentioned that the institutes will now be able to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (BTech) or Master of Technology (MTech) or PhD degree.

“The Bill will also enable the Institutes to attract enough students required to develop a strong #research base in the country in the field of Information Technology,” Nishank tweeted.

"IIIT Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will entitle the institutions to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or Master of Technology (M.Tech) or PhD degree as issued by a University or Institution of National Importance," he added.

These IIITs are already functioning as societies registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. They will now be covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017, similar to the other 15 IIITs established under the scheme in PPP mode.