Bengaluru: Minister for Higher Education Basaraja Rayaraddi has said former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate Dr B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) on October 4. The state government has set up the BASE on the lines of London School of Economics.

The minister told media persons that the State government was working towards having faculty exchange programme with London School of Economics and the first round of negotiation had been completed. The school will be headed by R.S. Deshpande, economist and former director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), in the first year.

The selection of the first batch of 50 students through a CET in Pune, Delhi, Kolkatta, and Chennai centres has been completed. As the building for BASE is yet to be ready, the classes for the first batch will be conducted in two rooms on the Jnana Bharathi campus of Bangalore University and the school will be affiliated to the university in the first year. Subsequently, it will be accorded an autonomous status after a Bill is adopted in the State legislature, the Minister said.

The student strength will be increased to 1,100 after BASE becomes completely operational.

While 60 per cent of the students will be from the State, including 30 per cent from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, the remaining 40% will be from other States. While the course will be free for SC and ST students, a fee of Rs. 50,000 a year will be charged for others, the minister said.