Information and Public Relations Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy said the state cabinet, at its meeting on Saturday, approved the proposal.

"The state government is of the view that in the present-day world, there is an increasing demand for engineering graduates with information technology skills and IT graduates with domain specialisation.

Day by day, the demand-supply gap is increasing rapidly. On the other hand, the opportunities for rural students in these emerging fields are significantly inadequate compared to their urban counterparts," he said.

The new university will design courses to meet the demands of work-place and to impart adequate soft skills to the students. The university will be headquartered at Hyderabad with constituent institutes, one each at Basara in Telangana region, Nuzivedu in Coastal Andhra and Idupulapaya in Rayalaseema region.

These Institutes are expected to commence courses during the next academic year 2008-09.  These institutes will cater primarily to the educational needs of meritorious rural youth of Andhra Pradesh.

The objects of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies will be to disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in information technology, engineering and such branches of learning as it may deem fit and in particular to make special provisions for integrated courses in humanities and social sciences in the educational programs of the University and to take appropriate measures for promoting inter-disciplinary studies and research in the constituent Institutes.