NEW DELHI: The Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) has been granted the status of ‘Institute of National Importance’ and now can award diploma and degrees to students of its own, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said yesterday.
The FDDI bill was passed by Parliament in July 2017. The provisions of the FDDI Act 2017 have come into force on 16 October. CR Chaudhary said the commitment to resolve the degree issue has culminated in the grant of the status of ‘Institute of National Importance’ (INI) to the FDDI. With this, the government has ensured upgradation of the FDDI to a position of eminence so as to enable it to effectively serve the sector, he added.
He also said that these institutes now have the “autonomy to design” their courses as per the requirements of the industry and award own degrees to the students.
The institutes can also independently develop and conduct courses for graduate and post graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels and also for research in the areas of footwear and leather products design and development and allied fields.
Currently, it is imparting skill-based graduate and post graduate courses in the fields of footwear, leather goods, retail and management to around 2,500 students across eight campuses spread across India.
These institutes will now be able to enroll around 2,500 more students in the upcoming admission session, across 12 campuses, out of which four new campuses will become functional from the next academic session, CR Chaudhary today. The four new centres are coming up in Patna, Hyderabad, Ankleshwar and Banur.
The controversy with regard to the institute dates back to 2015, when the UGC, in September 2014, raised questions against the MoU between FDDI and Mewar University for grant of degree to FDDI students registered for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 in light of the AICTEs non-recognition of these degrees.
He said the government is giving special focus to this sector as it employs about 4.42 million people.
PTI