Facing criticism for his earlier comments on IIT and IIM faculties, environment minister Jairam Ramesh took a U-turn and praised the institutions on Friday. He also said that he has a long association with the premier institutions.
Earlier this week, Mr Ramesh had said the faculties and research of the IITs and IIMs are not at par with similar facilities and faculties elsewhere in the world. Objecting to Mr Ramesh’s view, HRD minister Kapil Sibal had said Thursday the government had “complete trust in the creative potential” of the teaching staff in these institutes. “My association with IIT goes back to 1963 and not many people can claim a 48-year-old association,” Mr Ramesh said on the sidelines of the 13th convocation of IIT, Guwahati.