Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of a world-class university campus by the Amity Education Group in Mohali’s IT city — paving way for the development of the area as a major educational hub.

The Cabinet also gave the nod to the draft of ‘The Amity University Ordinance 2020’ and authorized the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder SIngh to approve the final draft prepared by the Legal Remembrancer, without placing it again before the Cabinet.

“The self-financed private ‘Amity University Punjab’, being established as a highly research and innovation driven university on a 40 acre state-of-the-art campus, will be developed at a prime location in Mohali, SAS Nagar, with an investment of Rs 664.32 crore over five years. The University will become functional from the next academic year, with its first session set to commence in June- July 2021,” said an official spokesperson.

To be located just 10 minutes away from the Chandigarh-Mohali airport, the upcoming University would be instrumental in imparting world-class higher education to the students to empower them to compete globally and be gainfully equipped, said the spokesperson, adding that it will have an annual intake of 1500-2000 students.

Notably, Punjab Government has made it mandatory to reserve 15 percent of students from Punjab in the upcoming University, and five percent of total number of students will be given free education as part of the ordinance and its terms and conditions. The University would be recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff as per UGC Guidelines.