Patna: A 19-member Parliamentary standing committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, led by Rajya Sabha member and committee chairman Sanjay Kumar Jha, visited Nalanda University on Tuesday during its study tour of the Nalanda-Rajgir region. The delegation reviewed the university’s academic development, international outreach and heritage significance, besides exploring ways to strengthen tourism infrastructure.The MPs, including Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Manoj Tiwari and Sudha Murty, received a traditional welcome at the campus amid Vedic chants. They toured the university and interacted with Vice Chancellor Prof Sachin Chaturvedi, faculty members, officials and students.Chaturvedi briefed the delegation on academic programmes, the growing international student community, research initiatives, collaborations and development of the new campus. He highlighted its cross-cultural learning environment, where students and scholars from different countries study and interact.The delegation also visited the Net-Zero campus and discussed its renewable energy, water management and sustainable infrastructure systems. Jha appreciated the university’s transformation and growing international presence, saying the idea of rebuilding Nalanda had taken concrete shape after nearly 800 years. He noted the university now has more than 1,000 students and a Net-Zero campus with integrated power and water systems.Discussions also covered increasing international student participation, encouraging more students from Bihar and enhancing the university’s global visibility. The panel explored developing a stronger Buddhist and heritage tourism ecosystem in the Nalanda-Rajgir region.Murty highlighted Nalanda’s historical importance and hoped the university would achieve a stature matching the legacy of the ancient seat of learning. Rudy praised the integration of heritage with a modern, sustainable campus, while Tiwari stressed the scope for strengthening the academic and tourism ecosystem. Imran Pratapgarhi said interaction with students and staff provided valuable insight into the university’s contemporary academic environment.The delegation included Ajay Kumar Mandal, Anurag Sharma, Devesh Chandra Thakur, KE Prakash, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Rahul Kaswan, Suresh Kumar Shetkar, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Gola Babu Rao, Keshari Dev Singh Digvijay Jhala, Nadeemul Haque, R K Chaudhary, S Kalyanasundaram and June Malia.
