The Rajya Sabha passed two key bills yesterday including the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and the National Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2010. The bill would give eight new IITs their status through an Act of Parliament and would enable students of Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research to get their degrees.

The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2011, already passed by the Lok Sabha, seeks to set up eight new Indian Institutes of Technology in Bhubaneshwar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Indore, Jodhpur, Mandi, Patna and Ropar.
The bills is an important step towards setting up centres of excellence.