Patna: Decks have been cleared for establishing the Aryabhatt Knowledge University at the Bihar capital here, a minister said on Wednesday. The varsity is named after a famous astronomer and mathematician of ancient India.

Bihar Human Resource Development Minister Hari Narayan Singh on Wednesday said that the state assembly has passed the Aryabhatt Knowledge University Bill, 2008 for setting up the university.

"After the assembly passed the bill on Tuesday, work will soon start for setting up the university," Singh said.

He said that university is being established with the objective to regulate and add value to institutions imparting education on modern science like Information Technology, Nano-technology and Bio-technology.

After initiating a move to set up an international university in Nalanda, the Bihar government drew up a blueprint for setting up Aryabhatt Knowledge University last year.

The proposed university, an autonomous body, will grant affiliation to the government and private technical institutes in the state and act as a regulatory body for maintaining standards in these institutes. Medical colleges of the state will also be brought under the jurisdiction of this university.

"The prime objective of setting up the university is to develop professional education in response to the changing demands of the competitive world," an official said.

Once the university comes into existence, it will act as a single-window clearance system for maintaining a uniform policy as far as technical educational institutes in the state are concerned, the official said. IANS