Rajya Sabha passes bill to strengthen NID

New Delhi, 7 July, 2014

The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed a bill to give the status of an institute of national importance to the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad.

The bill was introduced by the government in 2013. It will enable the NID to conduct research and training in all disciplines related to design, confer honorary degrees, diploma, certificates and awards and other academic distinctions and titles in disciplines relating to design.

It will also enable the NID to undertake sponsored and funded research as well as consultancy projects.

The NID was set up in 1961 as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and also under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, as an autonomous institution.

It is an educational institution that conducts graduate and post-graduate programmes in design education. The bill was passed by voice vote.

Reacting to the development, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted: The first Bill of the NDA government passed, The National Institute of Design Bill, 2014, passed by the Rajya Sabha unanimously.Grateful to all Hon’ble Members for unanimous support in Rajya Sabha for passing of The National Institute of Design Bill, 2014.

The bill

The National Institute of Design Bill, 2013

The National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad was set up in the year 1961, and, as a Society, it was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and also under the Bombay Public Trusts Act in 1950, by the Government of India, Ministry of Industry – it was known so at that time –and as an autonomous institution, it has been imparting education and training. It is an institution known for it, which conducts graduate and post-graduate programmes in the area of design education. The NID, Ahmedabad is already striving for excellence in the field of design education. The NID products comprising of students and alumni form the spearhead of the design initiative in India.

Despite this, the potential for Indian design has not been fully exploited and there is immense scope for future growth which may be achieved by establishing an institution of national importance for imparting design education. This will also bring an international benchmarking which can award degrees, which can function as an apex body to train teachers and trainers who would do a better job of imparting design education in this country and provide the interface between academia and the industry.

The National Institute of Design Bill, 2013 inter alia will provide for declaration of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad as an institution of national importance and make it a body corporate to nurture and promote quality and excellence in design education, to conduct research and training in all disciplines related to design and to confer degree, post-graduate degree, diplomas, honorary degrees, certificates, awards and other academic distinctions or titles in disciplines related to design and to act as a nucleus for interaction between academia and industry.

It will be an encouraging exchange for designers to interact with the faculty of this institution and also for other technical staff, between the Institute and the industry, by undertaking sponsored and other funded research as well as consultancy projects.