New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) At least 90 percent of Indian universities are providing below-par education and the time has come when action is required to improve it, Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said here Thursday.

Speaking at an educational conference titled Edge 2010, Pitroda expressed concerns over the declining quality and said in 90 percent of our universities the quality of education was "not up to the mark" and "needed to be improved substantially".

He said expansion of higher educational institutes was also a key issue and the government was committed to opening 14 universities of innovation and 400 new colleges. Pitroda said diversity was critical to innovation.

Speaking at the same event, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal cautioned that in 2010 people are standing between "a collapsed past and an uncertain future" in the field of education. He was, however, optimistic that this was changing for the better.