Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). On 17 July 2008, the government of India issued a press release granting "In principle approval for taking over the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University – a constituent unit of the Banaras Hindu University, a Central University, its conversion into an Indian Institute of Technology and integrating it with the IIT system in the country." The BHU Executive Council approved the proposal of the HRD ministry to convert IT-BHU to IIT (BHU) Varanasi, retaining academic and administrative ties to BHU. On 4 August 2010 a bill seeking to amend the Institutes of Technology Act 1961 to declare IT-BHU an IIT was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for HRD, D. Purandeswari. The Lok Sabha passed The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011 on 24 March 2011 and the Rajya Sabha on 30 April 2012, thereby formalizing the IIT status of the Institute. The Bill was signed by the President of India on 20 June 2012 and notified in the gazette on 21 June. The Department of Architecture, Planning and Design was set up in the Institute in collaboration with IIT Roorkee, beginning its academic activities from the session 2019-2020. The first cohort of students consisted of 20 students admitted into the five-year programme through the JEE Advanced exam. The institute celebrated its centenary year in 2019-2020. It organized a global alumni meet and other cultural events during the celebration. The 80-year-old BENCO chimney was also re-erected to commemorate the institute's completion of a century. Organisation and administration Departments Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) has 11 engineering departments, 3 science departments, 3 schools, and a humanities department: Academics Undergraduate programme IIT (BHU) Varanasi offers four-year instructional programs for the degree of Bachelor of Technology (BTech) and five-year programs for Integrated Dual Degree (IDD). The IDD program offers both BTech and MTech degrees. Admission to all programs is expressly through the Joint Entrance Examination conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology. Earlier half of the intake for Pharmaceutical sciences was through JEE and the other half through BHU-PMT. But after the college was converted into an IIT, intake for BTech and the IDD in Pharmaceutical sciences (now Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology) is exclusively through Joint Entrance Exam. Postgraduate programme Postgraduate courses offer Master of Technology (MTech) and PhD degrees. Admissions to the MTech program are made through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering