NEW DELHI: The Cabinet gave its approval for establishment of a National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Bhubaneswar at an estimated cost of Rs 823.19 crore.

The government also cleared the creation of 761 posts in academic, scientific, technical, administrative and auxiliary categories, Minister of Information and Broadcasting P R Dasmunsi said after the Cabinet meeting. NISER will start functioning initially from the campus of Institute of Physics (IOP) and its academic programme will start from this month, Dasmunsi said.

The said institute will conduct an integrated 5 year MSc programme in the core and emerging branches of Basic Sciences to students after their 10+2 Higher Secondary schooling. This in turn will be integrated with PhD programme on the one hand and employment in various R&D organisations and industry in the country on the other.

The institute will also conduct Integrated MSc and PhD after BSc from other universities, and a PhD programme after MSc from other universities. The institute campus will be completed in four years from the date of acquisition of land, Dasmunsi said.

The institute shall be an autonomous body under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and will be the first of its kind under the DAE umbrella, he said.