18 IITs, 26 NITs, 190 engineering colleges to adopt stretches of National Highway

New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NITs) and other AICTE approved engineering colleges have associated with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to adopt nearby stretches of the National Highway on a voluntary basis as a field of study to familiarise students of the Institute with the latest trends in industry. So far 18 IITs, 26 NITs and 190 other reputed engineering colleges have opted for the scheme. Appropriate MoUs are being signed between the technical institutes and NHAI for the adopted stretches and so far about 200 institutes have already signed the MoU for implementation of the scheme. These initiatives are expected to create a bridge between these reputed technical institutes across the country and the industry as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will also lead to mutual cooperation between the institutes and the NHAI for dissemination of respective expertise on the field of civil/highway engineering on national highway projects.

According to an official release here, the partner institutes will study improvement prospects in safety, maintenance, riding comfort, removal of congestion points and usages of new technologies on the adopted stretches and give suitable suggestions to NHAI for consideration. The institutes will also associate with NHAI during conceptualisation, design and project preparation of new projects and suggest the relevant parameters and innovations based on experience specific to the site climate, topography and resource potential for better socio-economic outcome. This initiative will also instil a sense of contribution in building local infrastructure among the students fraternity. More than 300 institutes offering Civil Engineering UG and PG courses are expected to adopt NH stretches all over the country. NHAI will offer internship to 20 under graduate and 20 post graduate students of the Institutes per year. Duration of internship shall be two months per student in a year. Internship stipend will be Rs 8,000 for undergraduate students and Rs 15,000 per month for postgraduate students. NHAI will support the creation of lab infrastructure in the institute and may sponsor relevant research project that helps in using alternative resource material and improving quality of roads.