Pondicherry Engineering College (or PEC) is one of India's premier engineering institutions situated in Puducherry in East Coast Road. Pondicherry Engineering College is an Institution sponsored by the Union Territory of Puducherry. The College was started in 1984 under the VII Five Year Plan. It is an autonomous Institution for the purposes of administration, staff recruitment and College development and is managed by a Board of Governors. The College is affiliated to the Pondicherry University for academic purposes. The institute offers eight Undergraduate, eight Postgraduate and PhD programmes in the major disciplines of engineering and technology. The 12°00′51″N 79°51′01″E / 12.014074°N 79.850307°E / 12.014074; 79.850307 College campus is situated at Pillaichavady which is about 12 km from the Railway station and bus-stand in Pondicherry town. It is about 160 km south of Chennai (Madras) on the shores of Bay of Bengal. The campus is also well connected by town buses from Pondicherry. Buses ply between Chennai (Madras) and Pondicherry frequently and the duration of journey is about 3 to 4 hours. The buses that come from Chennai via East Coast Road (ECR) stop near the campus.