Monday, June 5 2006 18:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kanpur: Higher education institutes that see the Centre's proposal to increase quotas as an infringement of their autonomy can take heart from the fact that Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal is for giving greater freedom to varsities to create 'more innovations'.

"The more we allow university system more freedom the more autonomy is given to universities, we will have more innovations," he said dedicating to the nation, a prototype development unit in the Samtel Centre for Display Technologies at IIT-Kanpur.

He made no direct reference to the reservation policy.

The minister, who had in April stirred a controversy after he criticised the government's move to reserve jobs in private sector and seats in elite education institutions, said, "If any nation wants to move forward, the centre for innovation has to be universities. Young minds are the ones who drive faculty towards innovation".