New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) has proposed to upgrade its existing infrastructure and double its student intake capacity by 2012.

The institute has submitted a Rs.300 crore-proposal to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for enhancing its infrastructural facilities so as to accommodate 4,000 students. The institute's current student strength is 2,100.

The proposed increase in the intake capacity includes the 54 percent rise in the total seats for implementing the mandatory 27 percent OBC quota reservations by 2010.

The institute has about 700 acres of land, of which, about 550 acres will be used for expansion.

"We have submitted a proposal to the HRD Ministry and are awaiting its approval. There will be a huge expansion of facilities like buildings, laboratories, hostels, equipments etc.", said Gautam Barua, IIT Guwahati Director.

The move has come in after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which have the adequate facilities and potential to expand, to explore the possibility of increasing their student intake capacity by upto three times.

After Manmohan Singh's appeal, the HRD Ministry wrote to the IITs to submit proposals if they could increase their students' strength.

Manmohan Singh recently visited IIT Guwahati where he said that the Government is committed to build eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, 16 new central universities, 14 world class universities and five new Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISER) of which few are already functioning.