How did Jio Institute get Institute of Eminence (IoE) status? Here are the facts

The presence of Jio Institute, to be run by the Reliance Foundation in Mumbai, in the list raised eyebrows. But here are the facts on how the institute made the cut.

Applications were invited from both public and private entities for IoE under the greenfield and brownfield categories.

A government constituted a panel of experts that had N Gopalaswami (chairman), professor Tarun Khanna, professor Pritam Singh and Renu Khatore to assess applications.

The panel took the following parameters into account for judging the applications received for setting up Greenfield institutions under IoE:-

 Availability of land for construction of the institution.

 Putting in place a core team with very high qualification and wide experience.

 Making available funding for setting up the institution.

 A strategic vision plan with clear annual milestones and action plan.

Eleven applications were received for IoE status under greenfield category. Out of the 11 applications, only Jio Institute satisfied all the four parameters stated above.

The government announced more than two years ago that it would grant the IoE status to 20 institutions, But Gopalaswami told The Economic Times the list fell short of the promised number because the panel could not find 20 institutes that it felt would be able to find a place among top 500 global rankings in ten years, as was the criteria.

IoE is coveted, with up to 114 institutes applying for the status. The institutes that vied to make the cut include 11 central universities, 27 ‘institutes of national importance’, top IITs and NITs, 27 state universities, 10 private universities, and four greenfield institutes.