PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Nalanda University in Bihar today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bihar on Wednesday, June 19, to inaugurate the new Nalanda University campus near Rajgir’s ancient university ruins.
The campus is named after the ancient university, which attracted scholars from around the world about 1,600 years ago.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar and ambassadors from 17 partner countries will also attend the event, according to officials.
Terming the occasion “historic”, the university’s interim vice-chancellor professor Abhay Kumar Singh told The Hindu, “We consider the visit of the Prime Minister a very prestigious and auspicious occasion. The Prime Minister has made the occasion special because he is bringing the diplomats of East Asia Summit countries. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is also coming. This celebratory spirit will give Nalanda a boost.”
PM Narendra Modi’s Nalanda visit
Modi will visit ancient Nalanda, which was announced as a UN heritage site in 2016, around 9.45am and will be inaugurating the campuses around 10.30am. He will also give a speech, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Abhay Kumar Singh said Modi’s visit would make the university, where students from 26 countries are studying, more popular globally.
Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and chief minister Nitish Kumar will join the Prime Minister.
The university moved to its new campus in 2020, which combines traditional and modern architecture. The 455-acre campus includes a Net Zero area with 100 acres of water bodies.
Nalanda University history
In 2007, after the then-president APJ Abdul Kalam’s suggestion, the Bihar assembly passed a bill to build a foundation for a new university. The government provided 455 acres for the university, which was created on November 25, 2010, by a special Act of Parliament and designated as a national institution, The Hindu reported.
The new university began operating on September 1, 2014, from a temporary location with just 14 students. The temporary location, the International Convention Centre in Rajgir 10 km from ancient Nalanda, was inaugurated in September 2014 by the then-external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.
Former president Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus in Pilkhi village in Rajgir in 2016. Construction on the new campus started in 2017.
About Nalanda University
The university has two academic buildings with 40 classrooms, two 300-seat auditoriums, a hostel for around 550 students, a 2,000-seat amphitheatre, a sports complex, and an international centre. It hosts students and faculty from various countries, the report added.
The university offers postgraduate and doctoral research courses, short-term certificate courses, and 137 scholarships for international students, The Indian Express reported.