The government has approved a full-scope programme of the restructured socio-economic project Media Lab Asia for a period of nine years.
A sum of Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million) was released by way of grant-in-aid to Media Lab Asia in 2001-02. An adequate balance is available for the execution of the ongoing projects under the programme, the Union IT and Communications Minister, Arun Shourie told Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
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Media Lab Asia Project envisages research, design and technology transfer in the field of information and communication technology and other emerging disciplines.
It also seeks to establish a national and international network of people, projects and laboratories.
In May this year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, decided to discontinue its involvement in the management of Media Lab Asia citing differences with Shourie over focus of the research projects.
Shourie, however, brushed aside the allegations made by MIT and said that the US-based institute failed to add value to the project, which was designed to benefit the Indian masses.
In a bid to transform the controversial Media Lab Asia project into a research hub, the government in July announced a budgetary support of Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million) per year to the research and development entity, to be guided by a steering committee that would include the human resources development minister.
