NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the introduction of the South Asian University (SAU) Bill in the “current” session of Parliament. The creation of the university was first mooted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the 13th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Dhaka in November 2005.

Though the Bill to set up the SAU is being brought in only now, spadework has already begun. The Delhi Development Authority conceded the External Affairs Ministry’s request for 100 acres at Maidan Garhi near the Indira Gandhi National Open University in the capital. While the External Affairs Ministry will cough up around Rs.75 crore for the land, contribution to other expenditure will be decided by SAARC member-states through inter-governmental mechanisms based on the existing participatory approach.

An inter-governmental agreement was signed at the 14th SAARC summit in April 2007 when it was decided that the university be established in India with branches in other member countries. The Bill provides the legal contours of the university as per this agreement. The university will have full functional autonomy, besides certain privileges and immunities as accorded to all SAARC bodies based on the U.N. Convention on Privileges and Immunities.

The SAU, as the Prime Minister envisaged, would provide world-class facilities and professional faculty to students and researchers from SAARC member countries.

The votaries of the SAU see it as the most “visible sign of transformation of SAARC from declaratory to implementation.” The first international university to be set up in India, its jurisdiction will extend to the whole of the country, and to campuses and centres established in the SAARC region.

Since May 7, 2008, a Project Office of SAU has been functioning in the Capital to acquire land; oversee the construction of the university; and draw up the charter, bye-laws, business plan; governance structure, and curricula.

The university is expected to start functioning in the second half of 2010 with 5,000 students and a postgraduate academic programme.