New Delhi: China, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Laos seem to have lost interest in funding the Nalanda University project in Rajgir, Bihar.
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that none of these countries, who had committed funds for the revival of the ancient university, made contributions in the last three years.
The revelation was made by a Parliamentary panel which submitted its report last week. According to the Ministry, “there has been no contribution from any country since August 2016”.
It said that while India contributed Rs 684.74 crore prior to 2016, China and Australia had granted $ 1 million. Thailand gave $ 1,32,000 and Laos contributed $50,000.
But funding from the international partners has dried up since then. Singapore, for example, had committed $ 50 lakh for the library building, but no fund has been received so far.
Nalanda University project was revived through an Act of Parliament in 2011, with commitments from ASEAN countries. At its height, the university attracted 10,000 students from around the world.
The university is set to move to its new state-of-art campus soon. At present, it is functioning from the makeshift campus in Rajgir.
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