The Government of India has requested Canada to share its knowledge and make a significant investment in the Indian education sector with a view to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

India is committed to investing Rs.85,000 crores under the 11th Five Year Plan period for the expansion of higher education facilities.

Addressing an annual meeting of the Indo-Canadian Shastri Institute, R P Aggarwal, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) said that India was on the verge of a 'knowledge revolution' and Canada's excellence in higher education would go a long way in helping India expand in the field.

Aggarwal further informed that during the 11th plan period, the Government was planning to set up 30 Central Universities, eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 10 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), three Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and two Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPA).

The Indian Government would also offer assistance to 1,000 polytechnic institutes; 300 in public-private partnership mode and 400 in the private sector, besides taking care of the infrastructure and faculty shortages, he added.

Further, to enable students, make most out of the advanced technology; the Government also aims to provide 10-dollar laptops to students. Research in this direction is being already carried out at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.