Shimla: The second academic session of Himachal Pradesh's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will begin in the state's Mandi town, a minister said on Friday. The first session was held at IIT-Roorkee, its mentor institute.

Initially, the IIT classes would start at Mandi's Vallabh Government College, the state's Technical Education Minister Narender Bragta told the sources.

"The IIT will be temporarily operated from Vallabh Government College till its own building is completed. We will provide the necessary infrastructure," he said. Mandi is about 200 km from here.

"Work related to the construction of the IIT campus at Kamand village near Mandi is in progress," the minister added.

The IIT is admitting students in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science and other engineering streams. The central government has sanctioned 40 seats for each stream.

The decision to establish an IIT in Himachal Pradesh was announced by then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram while addressing a rally in Shimla on October 2, 2007.

-- IANS