New Delhi: The central government has approved the proposal of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to double their fees, a official said on Sunday.

Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who is also the chairperson of the IITs' Council, cleared the fee hike on Saturday.

The new fees structure would become effective from the new academic session, the official said.

The annual fees have been raised from the Rs.25,000 to Rs.50,000 for B.Tech. and M.Tech. courses on the recommendations of the C.N.R. Rao Committee, constituted by the IIT management.

Despite doubling the fees, the IITs would be spending about Rs.150,000 on every student an nually, the official said.

An official notification would be sent to all seven IITs, apprising them of the government's approval of the fee hike.

The seven IITs, at Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee, wanted to hike fees after some of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) made a similar move. The IITs last raised their fees in 1998 and their managements were complaining of inadequate funds. IANS