In a significant move to strengthen the minority Buddhist population in the Himalayan belt including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the Central Government today launched the Buddhist Development Plan.
Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Smriti Zubin Irani virtually laid the foundation stone for Rs 85 crore worth projects of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (CIBS), Leh, besides Training cum Examination Centre (200 seaters) at Polytechnic College, Kargil and Industrial Training Institute, Leh at an estimated cost of Rs 14.5 crore.
The sanctioned funds will be utilized for construction of a new Academic Building for Traditional Course at CIBS Leh (Rs 52.97 crore) and building a school with facilities like Science Lab, Computer Lab, Indoor Stadium etc for Duzing Photang Ufti in Zanskar, Kargil (a branch school of CIBS) at the cost of Rs 32 lakh.
Speaking on the occasion, Irani announced the establishment of a new Buddhist Centre at Delhi University for the promotion and preservation of Buddhist literature, language and skills to be executed at an estimated cost of Rs. 30 crore.
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