With a thrust on improving the standard of higher education, the government is working on a proposal to set up 14 'World Class Universities' across the country at an early date.

A blueprint is being prepared by the Human Resources Development Ministry and Planning Commission to set out
the criteria for such universities, which will have a business management school, an engineering college, a medical college, a law college in a single campus.

The proposal is being pursued by the Prime Minister's office which has asked the HRD Ministry and Planning
Commission to expedite formulation of guidelines for such universities and give the final picture by the third week of
this month.

"We have been asked by the Prime Minister's Office to work within the given time frame to formulate the guidelines," said Planning Commission member Bhalchand Mungekar.

 The HRD Ministry and Planning Commission have started working on these guidelines acting on the proposal of the full
Planning Commission meeting on education sector that was held on September 13.

"We are working at a very fast pace on the guidelines because we have already been told once by the PMO that we are
behind the schedule. Soon, we will have the guidelines in place," said Mungekar, former Vice Chancellor of Mumbai
University.