Following is from the PIB report http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=40465.
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for creating Project Cells to expedite work in respect of 6 AIIMS like institution under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) Scheme.
July 17th, 2008
Following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=40469.
Cabinet has today approved the setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and at Indore in Madhya Pradesh at a total cost of Rs. 6080 crores (@ Rs. 760 crores per IIT) for 6 years period, and consequently approval for forming of Societies for creating legal entities for the new IITs. Academic sessions are going to commence in 6 new IITs starting from 23.7.2008. The IITs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat are going to commence their classes for about 120 students each for B.Tech programmes through temporary campuses located near the place where the IIT campus is likely to be built. These 3 IITs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat are going to be mentored by the IITs of Madras, Guwahati and Bombay, respectively. The three IITs of Rajasthan, Punjab and Orissa are going to commence their classes in the campuses of their mentor IITs at IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur, respectively.
The Cabinet has also approved the creation of 30 faculty posts per year in the first three years of establishment of each of the new IITs and have also specifically approved the post of a Director in each of the new IITs in the grade of Rs. 26,000 (fixed) and a post of Registrar in the grade of Rs. 16,400-22,400 for each of the new IITs. The Cabinet has also decided to raise the grade of all existing IIT Directors from Rs. 25,000 (fixed) to Rs. 26,000 (fixed).
The balance of two IITs at Indore in Madhya Pradesh and the IIT in Himachal Pradesh are likely to commence their sessions from the next academic year of 2009-10. All the State Governments have identified about 600 acres of land for the location of the new IITs. In case of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, Govt. have accepted the site recommended by the State Govt. and in the rest of the cases, the Site Selection Committee will inspect the offered sites in due course and will give its recommendations to the Ministry.
With a view to ensure good effective coordination as well as maintenance of excellence in the new IITs also, pending selection of regular Directors for the IITs, it has been decided that the Directors of the mentor IITs will work as Directors of the mentored IIT and the Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the mentor IIT will also be the Chairman of the BoG of the mentored IIT.
With the creation of new IITs, high quality technical education will become accessible to more bright students as now hardly two percent of about three lakhs students who appear in the Joint Entrance Exam of IITs can get admission in them. The new IITs will also facilitate the increased output of high quality Engineering and Science graduates, postgraduates and Ph.D.s; Teachers for Engineering and Science subjects at College/University level and R&D and Intellectual Property generation in Engineering and Science.
Cabinet also approved 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.
It would also address State/Region specific technology related problems of States/UTs situated in the IITs’ Zones.
July 17th, 2008
Update: The university is to be called Jagadguru Kripalu University. The blog http://shree-kripaluji-maharaj.blogspot.com/ gives day to day information on Kripaluji Maharaj’s activities across the globe.
Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.
The Orissa government and the Krupaljimaharaj Trust on Monday signed an MoU to set up a Vedic University in the state. This is the fourth MoU the government has signed in the higher-education sector.
Earlier, the government had signed MoUs for Vedanta University, ICFAI University and Ravisankar University.
The Vedic University will impart education in Vedic science, Ayurveda and Naturopathy, besides the professional courses in MBA and basic degrees in science, commerce and humanities.
The Krupaljimaharaj Trust has applied for 50 acres of land in Banki tehsil area for the university. In the absence of Swami Mukundananda, who is now in the US, his nominee Ajit Kumar Kar signed the MoU on behalf of the Trust. The state higher education secretary, PK Mohapatra, signed the papers for the state government.
Meanwhile, the state government has prepared the draft bills for the other three universities for which it has signed MoUs. …
The state higher education minister, Sameer Dey, said the bills for Vedanta Unviersity, ICFAI University and Ravisankar University will be tabled in the coming session of the Orissa Assembly.
Deepikaglobal has a report with some more detailed information on this.
The Jagadguru Kripal Yoga Trust (JKYT), a New Delhi-based organisation, has planned to set up a world class Yog and Spiritual Science University in Orissa.
The proposed University would be set up in Mouza Banara under Banki Tahasil of Cuttack district over 250 acres of land at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore.
… As per the MoU, the trust would pay for the land and bear all the expenses of the university, while the government would only extend the facilities like power and water supply.
The proposed university, scheduled to be completed in five years from the possession of land, had planned to impart courses in 21 disciplines.
The courses included graduation in Naturopathy, Yogic Sciences, Rural economics, Rural Development on Health, Hygiene, Homes, Human Values and Harmony in Diversity, Rural Management, Social work, Arts, Business Administration, Computer Application,Oriental learning, Science, Engineering and Yoga Therapy.
The proposed university would also impart post graduate courses in Business Administration, Oriental learning,Social work and other courses which would be added from time to time based upon the needs of the students and job opportunity.
The university would have a sports complex, recreational facilities, utility centres, mediation halls and laboratories and would develop related projects like health care system, Yogashram, Hospital, Old Age Home and cultivate medicinal plants in the alloted land.
As per the agreement the government would provide 110 acres of land in the first phase and the rest 140 acres in the second phase.
… The government has a right to cancel the lease if the land was used for the purpose other than that for which it had been sanctioned.
July 15th, 2008
Following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=40292.
Whereas the Central Government is empowered under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 to declare, on the advice of the UGC, an institution of higher learning as a deemed-to-be-university;
2. And whereas, a proposal was received from Department of Space for conferment of status of ‘Deemed-to-be-University’, under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, to ‘Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology’ being set up at that point of time under the aegis of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) near Thiruvananthapuram in the State of Kerala;
3. And whereas, the University Grants Commission has examined the said proposal and vide its communication bearing No.F.27-1/2007 (CPP-I) dated the 2nd January, 2008 has recommended conferment of status of ‘deemed-to-be-university’ to Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram for a period of five years;
4. Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, the Central Government, on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC), hereby declare that Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISST) Thiruvanathapuram shall be deemed to be a university, under de novo category, for the purposes of the aforesaid Act, provisionally for a period of five years, with immediate effect, subject to the following conditions:
(i) The functioning of the IISST as well as its performance shall be reviewed annually by the UGC through its Expert Committee. The status conferred upon the IISST will be confirmed after five years on the basis of performance report s of the Expert Review Committee of the UGC and the recommendation of the Commission thereon;
(ii) The Department of Space shall finalise the Memorandum of Association (MoA) and Rules of the IISST in accordance with the model MoA/Rules prescribed by the UGC and in concurrence with the Commission. For this purpose, the Department of Space shall also take into account the variations observed by the UGC in the said MoA & Rules and rectify and amend the relevant provisions in concurrence with the Commission. The IISST may, however, retain the text of the provisions proposed under Clause 20 of its Rules.
5. The declaration as made in para 4 above is further subject to fulfilment of the following conditions :
(i) The objectives of the Trust concerned and ‘Deemed-to-be-University’ institution should confine to educational and related social and charitable activities. The IISST should not undertake or engage in any activities that are of commercial and profit making in nature.
(ii) As and when necessary, IISST shall update or revise or modify its MoA/Rules with the approval of the UGC. Further, specific changes/amendments, if any, suggested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development or/and the UGC shall also be carried out by the deemed-to-be-university institution in its MoA/Rules with the approval of the UGC.
(iii) The accounts of the IISST shall be open to inspection/audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. There shall also be no diversion of assets of the IISST Society without prior permission of the Government of India / UGC.
(iv) The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram shall continue to support the IISST with its infrastructure facilities till the time the IISST has a fully developed and permanent infrastructure of its own at the location near Thiruvananthapuram where such facilities are being developed by the Institute concerned.
(v) The academic programmes being offered or to be offered by IISST shall conform to the norms and standards prescribed by the relevant Statutory Councils such as the UGC and the AICTE. The IISST shall not offer / award, as the case may be, any degree(s) that are not specified by the UGC. It shall also ensure that the nomenclatures of the degrees, etc. to be awarded by it are specified by the UGC under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956.
(vi) The IISST shall start new academic courses only as per the norms prescribed by the concerned Statutory Councils such as the UGC, AICTE, etc.
(vii) The IISST shall take all the required steps to get itself rated for valid accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), etc., as the case may be, in terms of instructions issued by the UGC vide its circular No.F.6-1(7)/2006(CPP-I) dated the 12th March, 2007.
(viii) The IISST shall not affiliate any teaching institutions / colleges.
(ix) The IISST shall take immediate steps to start Postgraduate, doctoral and post doctoral programmes in emerging areas of space technology.
(x) The IISST shall not conduct any distance education programme without prior approval of UGC and Distance Education Council (DEC). The guidelines issued by both the DEC and the UGC from time to time in the matter of imparting education through distance mode have to be complied with by it.
(xi) The IISST shall not start and run any study centre / extension centre / off-campus centre / off-shore campus without obtaining the requisite prior approval of the UGC/ Government of India, as the case may be.
(xii) The IISST shall take immediate steps to comply with all the suggestions made by the UGC’s Expert Visiting Committee in its inspection report submitted to the UGC, so as to bring about the recommended improvement.
(xiii) All the prescribed norms and procedures of the relevant Statutory Councils, such as UGC, AICTE, etc. and other authorities concerned in the matter of admission of students, intake capacity of students, starting of new courses / programmes, renewal of approval to the courses, etc. will continue to be in force, and shall be adhered to by the IISST.
(xiv) In all its advertisements, public notices, communications, etc., the IISST shall distinctly mention under its nomenclature by inserting (within brackets) a line, which shall read: “Declared as Deemed-to-be-University’ under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956”.
(xv) The IISST shall abide by all the norms and guidelines as laid down by the UGC and other Statutory Councils such as AICTE, etc. from time to time, as are applicable to institutions notified as ‘Deemed-to-be-Universities’
Deptt. Of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development
PIB, New Delhi/ Dated: Asadha 23, 1030/July 14, 2008
HB/
July 14th, 2008
Following is an edited version of a mail sent by Prof. D K Tripathy, Dean Student Affairs, IIT Kharagpur
From: dkt
Date: Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Subject: Re: admission to iit bhubaneswar
To: Chitta Baral
Dear Prof.Baral
Thanks. Nothing to worry. Classes are starting with IIT Kgp Students same time at IIT Kgp. Yesterday I have signed the welcome letter to IIT Bhubaneswar Students.All letters are despatched yesterday. Thanks for your concern. We too want to do our best.
With regards
Prof Deba Kumar Tripathy,
Dean Student Affairs and
Professor Production Engineering
Rubber Technology Centre,
Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur 721302 WB
In light of of the way the other mentor IITs are treating their mentee IITs it is great that IIT Bhubaneswar is mentored by IIT Kharagpur.
July 9th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in the Telegraph.
The existing IITs that are handholding the new ones as “mentors” asked the Centre to postpone the launch of these institutes at a meeting yesterday. The government has agreed.
The three new institutes in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat — to be mentored by the IITs in Chennai, Guwahati and Mumbai respectively — will now open in August, or even later, instead of this month. They had earlier been scheduled to start classes at the same time as their mentor institutes in July.
Even when they open, these three will start classes on temporary campuses near their state capitals, using rented infrastructure, the sources said. “It’s impossible to start our own academic session and the classes at the new institutes at the same time,” an IIT director said.
“Since no faculty has been hired for them, our teachers would then have to go and teach at the new venues. The new IITs can only start once we have hired their faculty.”
The decision came at a meeting between the directors of the seven existing IITs and the human resource development (HRD) ministry in Delhi yesterday, the sources said. The directors asked the ministry to speed up the paperwork for the establishment of the new institutes.
“They don’t have even their own insignia or letter pad, and we are expected to start classes! Till they are registered, we can’t even hire teachers or issue call letters to the students,” another director said.
The ministry may approach the registrar of societies next week, sources said.
“We will try and register the institutes as soon as possible,” a senior ministry official said, admitting that bureaucratic lethargy was at fault.
Although registration will allow the new IITs to hold classes, the Centre needs to amend the IIT Act to formally recognise the degrees they would offer. A cabinet note seeking the amendment has been circulated among the ministries.
Classes for the students admitted to the three other new IITs — in Punjab, Orissa and Rajasthan — may also be delayed. Their classes are to be held at their mentor institutes in Delhi, Kharagpur and Kanpur this year.
“Our faculty members’ workload will increase,” a senior IIT Kharagpur official said, adding that no formal decision had yet been taken to delay the classes for the Orissa institute’s students.
Plans to launch an IIT in Himachal Pradesh this year were aborted after IIT Roorkee, its mentor, threw up its hands.
July 7th, 2008
Following is from a PTI news report in The Business Standard.
Vedanta University Project (VUP) has tied up with DAV Public School in Puri to provide high quality education to 500 children of land losing families and 200 children have already been selected for admission in the school.
Classes are scheduled to commence from July 1 and VUP will be supporting the DAV institution to set up a DAV Oriya medium school shortly in one of the peripheral villages.
VUP has also provided four 40-seater buses to DAV School, Puri for tansportation of children belonging to land losing families who have been selected for admission to the school.
While handing over the keys of the buses to the Principal of the school, Sanjeev Anand Zutshi, director of VUP said, "Provision of transport will encourage children of land losing families to come to the school regularly. This along with other facilities like mid-day snacks, free uniforms and study materials is expected to motivate the children to pursue their school education in right earnest."
"Quality school education will create enabling conditions for the children of the peripheral villages to attain excellence in the academic field for which Vedanta University will create abundant opportunities", Zutshi added.
This is something every company that is taking people’s land should do. This should become part of the R & R. For the children’s sake this will encourage the family to stay near by; and hence will prevent from the dynamics to break down when families disperse. This will also help in making the next generation of the family educated in good schools.
July 1st, 2008
Sambada reports that Enrepreneurship development Institute (EDI) of India located at Ahmedabad is interested in opening a branch in Orissa and has asked for 15 acres of land near Bhubaneswar. This is a great institute and the Orissa government should help them and get them as soon as possible. Following is Sambada’s report.
Samaja has a different take on the news. It says the central government wants to establish an EDI in Orissa.
June 29th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.
The university announced postgraduate programmes in Culture Studies, South and South-East Asian Studies, Cultural Heritage and Conservation, Sociolinguistics (through correspondence course) and Tourism and Hospitality Services (self financing course). It also re-launched the one-year postgraduate diploma courses in Jain and Buddhist Studies, besides the six-month certificate course in Tamil language. Each of the programmes would have 30 seats.
The university has also introduced Masters degree programmes in performing arts and visual art last year has departments of drama (direction, acting and stage craft), dance (Odissi and Chhau), vocal music (Odissi and Hindustani), instrumental music (flute, violin, tabla, mardal and sitar), painting, applied art and design, art history and aesthetics and sculpture. Except the 10-seat strength department of sculpture, all other departments would have 20 seats each.
An admission test would be conducted for the aspiring students of the visual art programmes, the university sources said.
June 28th, 2008
Earlier reports had indicated that the site will be near Banki. But it seems that it is still not fully decided. I guess until the central government gives its seal of approval it won’t be decided. Most likely the central government will approve the site IIT Kharagpur (mentor institution) approves. But which is that site? The following Sambada and Samaja reports display this confusion.
June 22nd, 2008
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan is a deemed university fully centrally funded. It has ten campuses; one of them being in Puri. Following is the information about the Puri Campus.
- Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (Deemed University), Shri Sadashiva Campus, Puri (Orissa)
This campus was established on 15.08.1971 and is situated under the feet of Lord Jagannath at Puri in Orissa, which is one of four main Dhams. The institution is more than 100 years old. This Campus has its own building. The Campus is pursuing research work leading to the degree of Vidyavaridhi (Ph.D) and imparting education in Sahitya, Dharma Shastra, Navya Vyakarana, Puranetihas, Jyotish, Advaita Vedanta, Navya Nyaya, Sarvadarshana and Sankhya Yoga at postgraduate and graduate level and Shiksha Shastri at graduate level. There is computer education facility in the Campus.
The Puri campus is different from the Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University in Puri. Some more information on the Puri campus taken from http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/puri.htm is as follows:
Shri Sadashiva Sanskrit College established in the year 1865 was taken over by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan as one of its constituent units on 15.8.71. The Campus is situated on eastern side of Jagannath Temple nearer to Governor House at Puri. The Campus is situated on a plot of 4.7 acre in its old building.
The Campus is pursuing research work leading to the degree of Vidyavaridhi(Ph.D.) and imparting education in Sahitya, Dharma Shastra, Navya Vyakarana, Puranetihas, jyotidh, advaita Vedanta, Navya Nyaya, Sarvadarshana and Sankhya Yoga at post-graduate and graduate level. There is computer education facility in the Campus. Ths Campus has 8 publications to its credit.there are 34 individual publications of teachers besides 105 Reaearch Papers and 277 articles. The campus has a library consisting of 34,586 books and 232 manuscripts costing about Rs. 8 lakhs.
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan’s two other Vidyapeethas have been converted to deemed universities. They are:
As per tathya.in Shri J. B. Patnaik, ex CM of Orissa, and a scholar in his own right, has just been appointed as the Chancellor of the later.
Besides the above mentioned four Sanskrit Universities there are currently seven other sanskrit universities in India, taking the total to eleven.
June 21st, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.
… the Synovate survey of the Outlook magazine has put KIIT School of Technology, a constituent of KIIT University in the 18 the position among the top 100 private technical colleges of the country in the same league as prestigious institutes such as BITS of Pilani, PSG College of Technology of Coimbator, BIT of Mesra, Thapar University of Patiala and VIT University of Vellore. It is the only institute from Orissa to feature in this elite list of private engineering colleges.
The survey, which conducted every year to reveal the names of 100 topmost colleges of the country, focuses on five basic parameters such as intellectual capital, pedagogic system, industry interface, infrastructure and facilities and placements. However, while most of the colleges figuring in the list have a history of 50 to 100 years, KIIT is only ten- years-old. KIIT has substantially improved its rank this year compared to the previous years. It was ranked 37th in 2007 and 100th in the year before.
June 21st, 2008
Update: The IIT site has been changed. So the new map is as follows:
Old map:
June 20th, 2008
From http://niser.iopb.res.in/careers/ the NISER pay is:
| Assistant Professor |
12,000-375-16,500 |
| Reader (F) |
14,300-400-18,300 |
| Associate Professor |
16,400-450-20,000 |
| Professor |
18,400-500-22,400 |
.. In addition to the basic salary, NISER faculty is entitled to allowances as admissible to Central Government Employees stationed at Bhubaneswar and to the DAE’s update allowance, which is currently Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 per year depending on the scale of pay. They will also receive other fringe benefits (like Relocation Grant, Reimbursement of telephone charges, financial support to attend national/international Conferences/Seminars/Workshops, etc.) which will be comparable to the best in the country.
From http://www.iiserkol.ac.in/career.html the IISER pay is:
1. Professor : Scale of pay : Rs 18,400 – 500 – 22,400
2. Associate Professor : Scale of pay : Rs 16,400 – 450 – 20,000
3. Assistant Professor : Scale of pay : Rs 12,000 – 420 – 18,300
including allowances as admissible to Central Government Employees in Kolkata.
… In addition to pay and allowances the faculty members may be provided with the following:
-
Reimbursement of telephone charges up to Rs 750 per month.
-
Rs 4000 per year as book grant.
-
Reimbursement of 75% of membership fee (restricted to Rs.5,000.00) of two international and two national professional bodies every year.
-
Financial support to attend national/international Conferences/Seminars/Workshops, etc.
-
Seed money for starting research laboratory.
I wonder if IISERs have something comparable to the DAE update allowance that NISER will pay. Otherwise that could be a selling point for NISER over the IISERs. Perhaps a knowledgeable reader can enlighten us on this aspect.
June 20th, 2008
Following is from http://www.ugc.ac.in/notices/proposals6-5-08.pdf.
1. Krupajal Engineering College, Pubasasan, Kausalya Ganga, Bhubaneshwar – 2, Orissa.
F. 9-17/2007- U.3 (A); dated 15th March, 2007; withdrawn. Fresh proposal received under De-Novo Category. No. F.9-27/2008 dt. 15.4.08
The Institute has withdrawan the proposal under General Category. No. F. 35-7/2007 (CPP-I) Proposal for De-Novo Category is under process.
2. College of Engineering, Bhubaneswar, Under Nabadigant, Educational Trust, Plot No. 1, Sector – 3, Chandaka Nucleus
Industrial Complex, Patia, Bhubaneswar – 751 024, Orissa. De-novo
F.9-30/2007-U.3 (A) dated 15th May, 2007
The Institute has been asked to comply with the deficiencies vide UGC Letter No. F. 35-3/2007 (CPPI) dated 27th August, 2007
3. Asian School of Business Management Bhubaneswar, Orissa. De-novo
F.9-45/2007-U.3 (A) dated 18th September, 2007
Letter for State Govt.’s Views has sent. The file is in process vide UGC File No. F. 35-5/2007 (CPP-I)
4. Vidya Bharti University, Gunupur, Distt. Rayagarha, Orissa
F.9-60/2007-U.3(A) dated 28.11.2007
The Institute has sent the compliance to this office letter dt 28.1.08 and the file is under process. F. 35-6/2007 (CPP-I)
5. Koustav Institute of Self Domain Patia, Bhubaneswar, Orissa. (DE-NOVO)
F. 9-68/2007- U.3(A) dated 9th January, 2008
Information has been called in checklist proforma vide UGC Letter F. 35-1/2008 (CPP-I) dt. 4.2.2008.
6. HI-TECH University, Plot No. A-170, Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
F. 9-4/2008-U.3(A) dated 15th January, 2008
Information has been called in checklist proforma vide UGC Letter F. 35-2/2008 (CPP-I) dt. 6.2.2008.
7. C.V. Raman University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
F. 9-67/2007- U.3(A) dated 9th January, 2008
The Institute has been asked to comply with the deficiencies vide letter dt. 30.4.08 F. 35-4/2008 (CPP-I)
June 17th, 2008
(Update: New Indian Express also reports on it.)
Following is from a report in Pioneer.
Friends and well-wishers have developed a comprehensive website for IIT Bhubaneswar. The website, http://iitbbsr.net, talks about advantages of IIT Bhubaneswar over other new IITs. It includes a section of frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Among the advantages of IIT Bhubaneswar is the fact that the first year classes will be held at IIT Kharagpur. And the students will be living with IIT Kharagpur students in the same hostels and taking classes taught by the faculty of the institute. Thus, these students will have a firsthand experience of an established IIT and will be able to bring the culture and traditions to IIT Bhubaneswar.
The other advantages of IIT Bhubaneswar are that it will be located in a well-connected metropolitan area with a population of 16.36 lakh. This is not too small to lack amenities and not too big to have the problems of big cities such as high crime rate, traffic congestion, power cuts, pollution, water scarcity, and mega slums.
Among the amenities, the IIT will be located right next to the lush green Chandaka-Dampara Elephant Sanctuary and close to the banks of the river Mahanadi. The green environment will provide the IITians plenty of opportunities to interact with the nature and recharge their brains.
At the same time, the students will be close to the malls, a water park, bookshops, museums and other urban facilities of Bhubaneswar. In terms of connectivity, Bhubaneswar is well-linked to the rest of the country by rail (from Amritsar, Hardwar, Goa and Cochin to Guwahati and Dibrugarh), road and air (Indian, Jetlite, Indigo, Kingfisher and Deccan).
But the main advantage of IIT Bhubaneswar will be that it will be driven to excellence by competition and collaboration with other national and premium institutes. The presence of NISER (National institute of Science Education and Research, which is at par with IISER but funded by DAE, proposed world-class Central University and the Rs12,000-crore Vedanta University will be advantageous to them.
It will provide the IITians additional research and management opportunities at XIM (Xaviers institute of Management), AIIMS-like institute, National Law University, Institute of Physics, Institute of Life Sciences, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Regional Medical Research Centre, Regional Plant Resources Centre, CIFA and CRRI.
In addition, Bhubaneswar houses the country’s major software companies, including Infosys, WIPRO, TCS and Satyam, and is the State’s hub in terms of investment. Finally, the social life and career of the IITians will be complimented by the presence of 30-plus other engineering colleges, seven universities (Utkal, OUAT, Culture, Ravenshaw, KIIT, SOA and Sri Jagannath) and two other upcoming universities (ICFAI and Sri Sri), in the area.
With all these advantages, and the State Government’s extraordinary support, whereby it plans to give 1,000 acres of land to IIT Bhubaneswar, much more than the 500-600 acres that the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has suggested, IIT Bhubaneswar is destined to be among the top IITs of the country, feel educationists.
June 17th, 2008
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