Seven years after it was conceived, the Government does not want to further delay the ambitious Indian National Defence University (INDU) project. Aiming to ensure that it is operational by next year, the Government plans to table the Bill in this regard in the Winter Session of Parliament starting on December 15.

Headed by a three-star general, INDU will be a teaching and affiliating university for the existing training institutions of the three Services like the National Defence Academy (NDA).

The objective of this first of its kind institution is to promote strategic thinking, with civilians and Defence personnel eligible to take admission.

The land acquisition process for the university, to be spread over 205 acres and headquartered in Gurugram, is in progress and infrastructure facilities have been partially constructed. While the entire construction will take time, to begin with, the university of national importance will function on ad-hoc basis in New Delhi.

The Union Cabinet had approved the setting up such a university in 2010. The then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, laid the foundation stone of the campus on May 22, 2013. While the idea of such an autonomous institution first came up in 1967, the proposal gathered momentum after Kargil Review Committee recommended having a university to exclusively study Defence and strategic issues.

Moreover, the panel also suggested courses designed to promote expertise among military and civilian officers in higher Defence management for overarching policy formulation for internal and external security issues. The selected candidates shall also be thoroughly briefed and trained to deal with emerging security challenges besides informing them about fast changing war fighting doctrines across the world, the Review Committee proposed.

The panel headed by late K Subrahmanyam, a noted Defence expert and former Defence Secretary, to suggest reforms in Defence management was set up in the wake of Kargil war in 1999. It covered the entire gamut of security issues, including border management, integration of various Intelligence agencies, response to external threat, strategic policy formulation and synergy among all stakeholders handling security. The committee submitted its report to a Group of Ministers (GOMs) chaired by then Home Minister lK Advani in 2001.

The much delayed and awaited university will be instituted by an Act of Parliament after both the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha pass it. The President of India will be the Visitor and Defence Minister the Chancellor of the university.

As the construction of the campus is on and will take time for completion, the university after getting Parliament approval, will function on an ad-hoc basis from New Delhi, sources said here on Saturday.

The university will enroll at least 66 per cent of candidates from the armed forces while the remaining 33 per cent of students will comprise civilians besides personnel from police and para-military forces.

To be governed by its own norms, the autonomous institution will be affiliated with National Defence College, New Delhi, National Defence Academy, Khadakvasala, Defence Services Staff College(DSSC), Wellington and College of Defence Management(CDM), Secunderabad.

The curriculum is structured to enhance co-ordination and interaction between armed forces and non- armed forces institutions. The proposed university will offer post-graduate studies apart from doctoral and post-doctoral research. It will also promote higher studies through distance learning to military and civilians. As regards the teaching faculty, it will have a mix of military personnel and civilians in the ratio of 1:1 and officials said the university will function on the lines of prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM).

The university will have constituent units namely the School of National Security Studies, the School of Defence Technology, the School of Defence Management, the Centre for Distance and Open learning with regional centres of distance learning. It will also educate national security leaders on aspects of national security strategy, national military strategy and national information strategy by way of teaching and exhaustive research.