Lok Sabha Question No. 1977 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Study of Architecture
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Nayab Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1977 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2022

## STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE

## †1977. SHRI NAYAB SINGH

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state : (a)  whether  the  Government  has  framed  any  national  policy  to  streamline  the  study  of architecture; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the details of funds allocated to the Council of Architecture and utilized during the last three years; (d) whether the Government has received any request from the Council of Architecture for amending the Architects Act, 1972 and if so, the details thereof along with the action taken/ being taken by the Government in this regard; and (e) the details of the schemes of the Government to promote education of architecture and global

- to strengthen the Council of Architecture so that students may  avail the opportunities?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) & (b): The Architectural Education in India is regulated by the regulations made by the Council of Architecture (COA) with approval of the Central Government, as provided in the Architects Act, 1972.  To streamline the Architectural Education and lay down the norms and standards for imparting of recognized qualifications in Architecture all over India, COA has  amended  the  Minimum  Standard  of  Architectural  Education  (MSAER)  1983  and  has issued MSAER 2020 which were notified on 11 th  August, 2020.

(c):  No  funds  have  been  allocated  to  the  Council  of  Architecture  by  the  Ministry  of Education.  The  Council  charges  fees  for  registration  of  Architects,  for  giving  approval  to institutes for starting architecture course, for recognition of foreign qualifications etc., from which the Council meets its expenditure.  The details of income and expenditure of the COA for the last 3 years are as under:

(Rupees in crores)

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year   |   Income |   Expenditure |
|-----------|------------------|----------|---------------|
|         1 | 2018-2019        |    20.29 |          3.53 |
|         2 | 2019-2020        |    25.56 |          3.39 |
|         3 | 2020-2021        |    27.06 |          3.65 |

(d): Amendments of Acts are done following due diligence and procedure. A proposal from Council of Architecture (CoA) for amendment of the Architects Act, 1972 has been received in the Ministry. However, representations have also been received from various stakeholders  like  'The  Institution  of  Engineers  (India)';  'Licensed  Engineers  Association' etc., requesting not to amend the said Act as in their opinion any such amendment would be detrimental to the public welfare.

(e):  As  per  the  Architects  Act,  1972,  the  Council  may  enter  into  negotiations  with  the authority in any State or country outside India, which by the law of such State or country is entrusted  with  the  maintenance  of  a  register  of  architects,  for  settling  of  a  scheme  of reciprocity for the recognition of architectural qualifications. Also, to promote education of Architecture, the Government is extending fee remission to the students of SC/ST category studying B. Arch in IITs/ NITs/ SPAs so that deserving students can pursue education of Architecture without financial constraints.

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