AU inaugurates test and validation centre; defends revised estimates for centenary projects

Andhra University on Wednesday inaugurated an Engineering Test & Validation Centre, where components of a circuit can be tested and validated before fabrication.

Vice-Chancellor G.P. Raja Sekhar said the centre, set up as part of the Andhra University Incubation Council and A-Hub, is a joint project with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), with Phase I costing ₹50 lakh.

“Whether DST supports Phase II or not, Andhra University has already made a commitment,” he said, adding that equipment worth about ₹70 lakh would be received within two months. The facility, he said, would be useful for students and affiliated colleges, and would support skill development and the startup culture.

Responding to reports that the cost of the centenary projects had risen sharply, he said the Executive Council had approved the revised estimates. “The escalation in the estimates is justified,” he said. The boys’ hostel, first proposed for 568 students, will now accommodate 1,026, the girls’ hostel 732 instead of 376, and the mess 2,288 instead of 870.

“The increase is not merely because of escalation in construction costs,” he said, citing larger built-up areas, the 2026-27 Schedule of Rates, ₹4.5 crore for furniture and another ₹3 crore for ancillary works in the boys’ hostel project. The Andhra Pradesh Education Welfare and Infrastructure Development Corporation will execute the works.

A proposal for a single 80,000 sq ft building to house the District Central Library and the university library, 40,000 sq ft each, is at the draft stage, he said, with an estimated cost of about ₹70 crore, of which the university will contribute ₹6 crore to ₹7 crore.

The MoU for the NASSCOM Centre of Excellence, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)-NASSCOM centre on the campus, had expired, but the centre was not being closed, he said. Six of the eight startups there had agreed to continue, and the other two would be given the same opportunity. Reports that startups were being sent away were untrue, and those at A-Hub were functioning fully, he said.

Mr. Raja Sekhar leaves for the United States on Wednesday night for the university’s centenary celebrations with alumni, returning on October 19. Programmes are scheduled in Houston on October 10, with about 300 expected, and in New Jersey on October 17, with nearly 500.

An endowment policy will be released at the events for alumni commitments, he said. He will also explore MoUs with the University of Houston and Penn State University, and visit Texas A&M University.