Two hundred villages around a proposed international university at Nalanda will be developed in Bihar. A day after the Bihar Assembly unanimously approved the University of Nalanda Bill for setting up an international university, the villages around the proposed site are hopeful that the university will establish linkages with them that will result in their economic development. Chief minister Mr Nitish Kumar, in an Assembly speech earlier, said the government planned to develop 200 villages around the Nalanda University ~ the famous Buddhist centre of learning ~ like in the days of yore. “At least 200 villages used to be attached to the ancient Nalanda University. We plan the same for the proposed university, to create a near-original ambience and to benefit the local population,” he said. The chief minister had requested the Patna-based KP Jaiswal Institute to start identifying villages that used to be attached to the ancient university. All the basic amenities, including, schools, roads, safe drinking water and electricity, will be provided in these villages and job opportunities will also be created for the villagers. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and British businessman Meghnad Desai have agreed to be part of an international group of consultants for setting up the university. The state government will also rope in experts from Singapore and Japan for the university. Japan and Singapore have shown interest in investing about Rs 4.5 billion ($100 million) in the university. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has offered to donate Buddhist artefacts to the proposed university. Mr Nitish Kumar described the Bill approved by the state Assembly early this month as a great opportunity. The University of Nalanda Bill, 2007, states that the international university would strive to create a world free of war, terror and violence.
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