New Delhi, March 30: The Centre will ask the University Grants Commission (UGC) to persuade state governments, including that in Bengal, to loosen their grip on the institutes shortlisted for IIT status.

The subtle shift in strategy ? so far the human resource development ministry has been interacting with the states ? is aimed at ensuring that the exercise does not get entangled in charges of central interference on the sensitive issue of autonomy.

From the east, Jadavpur University’s faculty of engineering and technology and the Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, are among the seven selected nationwide for the coveted tag.

Some state governments, including the Left Front administration in Bengal, have been reluctant to give up control to attain the coveted IIT tag.

The Centre has also cleared Rs 42 crore as initial expenses for the upgradation, which will be shared among five institutes. Besides the two from the east, the five include the University of Science and Technology in Kochi, Andhra University’s College of Engineering and Osmania University’s College of Technology.

The remaining two of the seven ? Benares Hindu University’s Institute of Technology and Aligarh Muslim University’s engineering department ? are under the charge of the Centre and they will be given separate funds.

A committee that had gone into the issue has said elevation hinges on autonomy. The Centre believes that one of the key factors behind the success of IITs is their freedom to function without any interference from the government.

The human resource development ministry wants the seven institutions to follow the same path. They should be allowed to draw up their curriculum, choose faculty members and have a free hand over administrative functioning.

The ministry, however, is treading with caution as it does not want to be perceived by the states as undercutting their authority. Instead of “dictating” terms, the ministry has decided to issue an advisory to the UGC, asking it to “coax and persuade” the states to give up their hold. The UGC will play the role of a “guide” and advise the state governments how to proceed on the autonomy issue.

In November 2003, Murli Manohar Joshi, the then HRD minister, set up the committee to draw up a blueprint for upgrading regional technical institutions so that more students will have access to quality professional education. At present, there are seven IITs.

Setting up more IITs involves a lot of money ? according to one estimate, as much as Rs 2,000 crore is required for one such institute. The Centre, therefore, has settled for the next best option: upgrade the institutions which have the infrastructure and the capacity.