The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal for initiation of the Third Phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP). The project will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme with total project outlay of 3600 crore rupees.<br/><br/>However, the project would be initiated with a cost of 2660 crore rupees, with the possibility of additional financing of 940 crore rupees at later stage. The Focus States are Low Income States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Hill States of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand. <br/><br/>The eight North-Eastern States and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also focus states under the Programme.<br/><br/>The Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme commenced in 2003 with World Bank assistance as a long term programme to be implemented in three phases. The first phase of TEQIP commenced in 2003 and ended on March 31st, 2009. It covered 127 institutes across 13 States including 18 Centrally Funded Technical Institutions.<br/><br/>