India took its first formal step to recapture its erstwhile glory as an international knowledge destination with the opening of the new Nalanda University (NU) on 1 September 2014, 12 km from where the ruins of the ancient university are located. The 11-member governing board of the university is headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Gopa Sabharwal was appointed its first Vice-Chancellor in February 2011.
The Union government has sanctioned Rs. 2,700 crore to raise the residential university, which is projected to have seven schools for postgraduate and doctorate students by its scheduled completion in 2020. East Asia Summit (EAS) countries—including Australia, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Laos and Myanmar—are part of the initiative
Nalanda University is a newly established university located in Rajgir, near Nalanda, Bihar, India. The first academic session began on September 1, 2014, with 15 students, five of whom were women, in temporary facilities in Rajgir.