Some National Institutions/Universities and their locations; planning for the future in Orissa
October 4th, 2009
Update on 27th April 2011: The Central University location has been changed to Bander Sindri near Ajmer and only 80 kms from Jaipur. The Innovation University (previsouly referred to as National University) aiming for world class is now pushed for Jaipur. [Times of India].
Tathya.in has a report that mentions some official saying that because of the lack of an airport in Rourkela central government will not agree to have ESIC medical college in Rourkela. I think this is a completely frivolous argument; I don’t see much connection between an ESIC medical college and an airport. (Often airport is a codeword for adequate infrastructure. If that is the case Rourkela indeed has the infrastructure for an ESIC medical college.)
However, in regards to certain centrally funded institutions, such a requirement is in the background and mentioned by journalists, even if they may not be spelled out explicitly. So while pushing for an ESIC medical college in Rourkela, we should set our target to push for more functioning airports as a next action item. Following is a more detailed analysis.
Given below are the locations of some national institutions and some related attributes. It is easy to see that for the locations of IITs, IIMs and National Universities being near (say within 120 kms or 2 hrs) an operational airport has been an important factor. For national universities, in addition being in a large (1 million plus metropolitan area) area with other research institutes has also been spelled out as an important criteria and it is reflected in the locations that are picked.
On the other hand, the newly established central universities are in towns of all sizes and the locations of the NITs are mixed. The next level centrally funded but locally focused technological institutes, SLIET, Longowal, ABAGKC IET, Malda and Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar are on purpose established in rural areas and smaller towns. Unlike the NITs these institutions take only local students and also have programs focused on local needs. Nevertheless, their quality need not be bad. For example, SLIET is considered quite good.
Looking to the future following are some points relevant to Orissa.
- For Orissa to have future central institutions like IIM, SPA, etc. to be in a location outside of Bhubaneswar, Orissa must push for the quick establishment of airports and other infrastructure in other parts of the state. For example, the airports in Jharsuguda and Rourkela are the closest to be operational and they should have scheduled flights at the earliest. Otherwise new centrally funded institutions may again be established near Bhubaneswar and crying hoarse after the fact may not be productive.
- Similarly the knowledge commission has proposed the establishment of 50 national universities in the long run. Considering that the education budget significantly increases from one 5 yr plan to the next, I would not be surprised if there is another set of them made during the 12th plan. Orissa must be prepared for that and by that time (there is a short window) have other areas in Orissa with adequate infrastructure that are being deemed necessary for a national university.
- Orissa must take advantage of the industrial and investment interests in Orissa, mostly due to its minerals, and develop metropolitan areas with larger population base. Currently the local people are creating roadblocks rather than helping in such development.
- In 2010 we should do our best to convince the planning commission, the PM and MHRD that the 12th plan (starting 2012) should include more centrally funded institutions of the kind that can be located in rural or semi-urban areas. In particular,
- A centrally funded but locally focused technological institute (like SLIET) in all states. The one in Orissa could be located in Kalahandi or Balangir, the other two KBK districts that lack centrally funded institutions.
- Two regional universities in each major states that are funded 50-50 by the state and the center. (This would be better than one centrally funded institute.)
- Multiple branches of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in districts with high tribal population.
The NITs.
| City/Town | State | Population of city/town | Population rank |
| Delhi | Delhi | 18,639,762 | 2 |
| Surat | Gujarat | 3,196,799 | 10 |
| Jaipur | Rajasthan | 3,102,808 | 11 |
| Patna | Bihar | 2,656,318 | 13 |
| Nagpur | Maharashtra | 2,569,775 | 14 |
| Bhopal | MP | 1,751,766 | 17 |
| Allahabad | UP | 1,272,612 | 31 |
| Jamshedpur | Jharkhand | 1,252,815 | 33 |
| Srinagar | J & K | 1,104,489 | 41 |
| Calicut | Kerala | 1,000,802 | 46 |
| Tiruchirapalli | Tamil Nadu | 963,237 | 49 |
| Jalandhar | Punjab | 958,854 | 50 |
| Raipur | Chhatisgarh | 795,104 | 56 |
| Dehradun | Uttarakhand | 738,889 | 57 |
| Warangal | Andhra Pradesh | 656,298 | 61 |
| Surathkal, Mangalore | Karnataka | 612,374 | 66 |
| Pudducherry | Pudducherry | 575,027 | 71 |
| Rourkela | Orissa | 550,668 | 75 |
| Durgapur | West Bengal | 543,922 | 77 |
| Shillong | Meghalaya | 304,596 | 136 |
| Aizawl | Mizoram | 295,864 | 140 |
| Imphal | Manipur | 279,679 | 147 |
| Agartala | Tripura | 218,028 | 184 |
| Silchar | Assam | 209,543 | 193 |
| Kurukshetra (Thaneswar) | Punjab | 157,609 | 249 |
| Panaji | Goa | 142,336 | 271 |
| Kohima | Nagaland | 103,210 | 407 |
| Gangkot | Sikkim | 32,483 | |
| Hamirpur | Himachal Pradesh | 17,219 |
The IITs.
| City – Metropolitan area | State(s) | Metro population | Metro rank | State or country Capital | Rank in state | Number 1 in the state | Nearest airpot | Preferred airport |
| Bombay | Maharashtra | 21347412 | 1 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Delhi | UP, Delhi, Haryana | 18639762 | 2 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 7305169 | 4 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Hyderabad | Andhra Pradesh | 6290397 | 6 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area (60 kms away) | same |
| Gandhinagar – Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 5334314 | 7 | Yes | 1 | picked | Ahmedabad (40 kms) | same |
| Kanpur | Uttar Pradesh | 3494275 | 9 | No | 1 | picked | in area (only Air India) | Lucknow (80 kms) |
| Patna | Bihar | 2656318 | 13 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Indore | Madhya Pradesh | 2049193 | 15 | No | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Bhubaneswar | Orissa | 1666429 | 22 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Guwahati | Assam | 1038071 | 44 | Yes | 1 | picked | in area | same |
| Ropar – Chandigarh | Punjab | 1033671 | 45 | Yes | 3 | Ludhiana (19) | Chandigarh (60 kms away) | same |
| Jodhpur | Rajasthan | 987919 | 47 | No | 2 | Jaipur (11) | in area | same |
| Kharagapur | West Bengal | 511303 | 82 | No | 5 | Kolkata (3) | Kolkata (120 kms away) | same |
| Roorkee – Haridwar | Uttarakhand | 250645 | 166 | No | 2 | Dehradun (57) | Dehradun (1 hr away) | Delhi (180 kms) |
| Mandi | Himachal Pradesh | 32014 | No | 3 | Shimla (194) | Kullu-Manali airport (60 kms away) | same |
National Universities
| City – Metropolitan area | State(s) | Metro population | Metro rank | State or country Capital | Rank in state | Number 1 in the state | Airport with scheduled flights | Other airport nearby |
| NOIDA – Delhi | UP, Delhi, Haryana | 18639762 | 2 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Kolkata | West Bengal | 15414859 | 3 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Gandhinagar – Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 5334314 | 7 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Pune | Maharashtra | 5273211 | 8 | No | 2 | Mumbai (1) | yes | |
| Jaipur | Rajasthan | 3102808 | 11 | Yes | 1 | picked | Yes | |
| Patna | Bihar | 2656318 | 13 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | 1751766 | 17 | Yes | 2 | Indore (15) | yes | |
| Bhubaneswar | Orissa | 1666429 | 22 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Coimbatore | Tamil Nadu | 1644224 | 23 | No | 2 | Chennai (4) | yes | |
| Kochi | Kerala | 1541175 | 24 | No | 1 | picked | yes | |
| Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | 1511687 | 26 | No | 2 | Hyderabad (6) | yes | |
| Mysore | Karnataka | 1230039 | 34 | No | 2 | Bangalore (5) | New airport but no scheduled flights yet | 140 kms from Bangalore |
| Amritsar | Punjab | 1206918 | 36 | No | 2 | Ludhiana (19) | yes | |
| Guwahati | Assam | 1038071 | 44 | Yes | 1 | picked | yes |
New Central Universities
| City – Metropolitan area | State | Metro population |
| Gandhinagar – Ahmedabad (temporary?) | Gujarat | 5,334,314 |
| Srinagar | J & K | 1,104,489 |
| Khunti, Ranchi | Jharkhand | 1,066,449 |
| Jammu | J & K | 690,924 |
| Bikaner (Changed to be in Bander Sindri, near Ajmer, 80 kms from Jaipur) | Rajasthan | |
| Gulbarga | Karnataka | 534,417 |
| Sagar | Madhya Pradesh | 351,537 |
| Bilaspur | Chhatisgarh | 319,129 |
| Bathinda | Punjab | 269,520 |
| Koraput-Sunabeda-Jeypore | Orissa | 200,000 |
| Motihari | Bihar | 121,475 |
| Tiruvarar | Tamil Nadu | 61,270 |
| Kasaragod | Kerala | 52,683 |
| Tehri Garhwal | Uttarakhand | 25,425 |
| Mahendragarh | Harayana | 23,977 |
| Kangra | Himachal Pradesh | 9,155 |
IIMs
| City – Metropolitan area | State | Metro population | Airport |
| Kolkata | West Bengal | 15414859 | in area |
| Bangalore | Karnataka | 6466271 | in area |
| Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 5334314 | in area |
| Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh | 2991280 | in area |
| Indore | Madhya Pradesh | 2049193 | in area |
| Ranchi | Jharkhand | 1066449 | in area |
| Kozhikode | Kerala | 1000802 | in area |
| Tiruchirapalli | Tamil Nadu | 963237 | in area |
| Raipur | Chhatisgarh | 795104 | in area |
|
|
Uttarakhand |
92978 |
72 km away in Pantnagar |
| Udaipur | Rajasthan | 456994 | in area |
| Rohtak | Haryana | 340319 | 71 kms from Delhi |
| Shillong | Meghalaya | 304596 | in area |
Entry Filed under: Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),Central Universities,Eng. colleges - SLIET CIT etc,ESI Medical College,ESI Medical Colleges,IIT Bhubaneswar,IITs, IISc, IISERs, NISER, IIMs,Koraput-Jeypore-Sunabeda area (5),NITs, IIITs,PMSSY, AIIMS,Rourkela-Rajgangpur area (2),Universities of Innovation