New Delhi: Continuing with its educational reforms, the government on Thursday said it would make the opening of new engineering and management institutions across India a paperless process.

"We have now ended the inspection raj and have put in place a transparent self-disclosure regime in opening new management and engineering process," Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal said here.

All those who want to apply for opening of new institutions can apply online. "They need to give 42 different documents to us before receiving the letter of approval. All this will happen without sending us hard copies or visiting the ministry," the minister said.

Sibal further said, "The institution will now have to reveal their physical infrastructure, faculty details, courses on offer, the director's credential. It will be good for students, for new institutions and for the ministry as well."

He said after submitting 20 required documents, the proposed institution will get a computer generated provision identity number. Following which they will submit 20 other documents and get the permanent identity number.

"But the letter of approval will be issued after they disclose two last important documents - details about who is the director and who are the faculties," the minister added.

"This initiative is part of the efforts to bring in transparency, accountability, efficiency and swiftness in decision-making," All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) chairman S. S. Mantha said.

He said a portal will also be launched on January 10, to make the process easier. It will also have provision for students to register their grievances directly to AICTE and the HRD ministry through this platform.

The chairman also said that all the upcoming institutions too will have to furnish affidavit proclaiming that all documents furnished by them online are true. If found untrue, action will be initiated.

All the technical students in existing and upcoming institutions too will have their own identity numbers to make things more transparent in the college level.

The AICTE, which governs over 5,000 technical intuitions, has also provided 25 percent flexibility to management institutions in allocation of seats among different disciplines of postgraduate diploma in management to address ever-changing requirement of manpower.

Mantha also said that technical institutions can now on only provide MBA And MCA courses through distant education. No other course will be allowed distant education in these technical institutions.

"As we have promised, the reforms in education is our priority and you will see more such things in the future too," Sibal added. IANS