Odisha HRD

Progress report and current thinking on the proposed AIIMS-like institutes

Update:Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59525.

LOK SABHA

The Government has approved setting up of six AIIMS-like institutions in the States of Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) under the first phase of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). It is also proposed to set up two more institutions, one each in the State of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in the second phase of PMSSY.

Each institution will have a 960 bedded hospital (500 beds for the medial college hospital; 300 beds for Specialty/Super Specialty; 100 beds for ICU/Accident trauma; 30 beds for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and 30 beds for Ayush ) intended to provide healthcare facilities in 42 specialty/super-specialty disciplines.

Bids for construction of hospital and medical college complex for the six AIIMS-like institutions in the first phase are under process. The timeline for completion of these works is the second half of 2012.

This information was given by Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question raised in Lok Sabha today.

Following are excerpts from a report in Indian Express.

… The AIIMS at Bhopal is likely to cost Rs 849.46 crore, Bhubaneswar Rs 820.49 crore, Jodhpur Rs 777.64 crore, Patna Rs 858.43 crore, Raipur Rs 803.84 crore and Rishikesh Rs 820.15 crore.

… the officials suggested that certain operations of these new institutes should be outsourced through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Such operations include outsourcing routine/housekeeping services, hospital information system to a professionally managed agency and outsourcing of nursing orderlies and ward boys and other staff. “This strategy the health ministry officials argued would ensure minimal Group C & D employees,” a Plan panel source said. Nearly 95 per cent of the construction work for residential complexes for Jodhpur and Raipur Institutes has been completed, 45 per cent work has been completed for Patna and Rishikesh, while the construction for Bhopal and Bhubaneswar is gradually picking up,” he said. So far about 152 bids have been received including 57 for hospitals and 95 for medical colleges and hostels. “The technical and financial evaluation would be completed by March 30 and work is likely to commence by June 10,” the source said, quoting health ministry officials.

March 9th, 2010

Bhubaneswar decided as the ESIC medical college location in Odisha: Rajya Sabha answer

March 7th, 2010

Status of AIIMS-like institutes; Progress very slow in Bhubaneswar

Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59071.

2 comments March 5th, 2010

132 Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) Schools and 137 General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) Schools across India including Odisha

Following from PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=58927.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved, in order to meet the shortage of nurses, setting up of 132 Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) Schools under the Scheme of Upgradation / Strengthening of Nursing Services (Human Resource for Health) in the high focus states like Bihar, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, North Eastern States, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other districts in the country preferably which do not have Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery schools. 

The schools will be opened in these states at a total cost of Rs.660 crore with a cost sharing pattern of 85:15 between the Central Government and the States. The expenditure on the part of Central Government would be Rs.561 crore and the States will contribute Rs.99 crore. 

The effective implementation of the Scheme is expected to increase the availability of trained nursing manpower and to improve the quality of nursing education in the backward and special category States of the country. This would also facilitate improvement in the quality of nursing services in the Hospitals.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved establishment of 137 General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) Schools under the Scheme of Upgradation / Strengthening of Nursing Services (Human Resource for Health) in the high focus states like Bihar, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, North Eastern States, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other districts in the country preferably which do not have General Nursing and Midwifery schools. 

The schools will be opened in these states at a total cost of Rs.1370 crore with a cost sharing pattern of 85:15 between the Central Government and States. The expenditure on the part of Central Government would be Rs.1164.50 crore and the states are to contribute Rs.205.50 crore.

1 comment March 4th, 2010

300 page 6.2 MB UGC Report of the HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA Issues Related to Expansion, Inclusiveness, Quality and Finance.

The link is http://www.ugc.ac.in/pub/report/12.pdf. This was published in November 2008 with 500 printed copies. Its been recently put in the UGC website at number 12 in the page http://www.ugc.ac.in/pub/.

This 300 page document has all kinds of data on higher education in India and is a must read for anyone interested in higher education vis-a-vis India.

An Expressbuzz report by Sanjeev Patro tries to distill out some data with respect to Odisha from the above document. It is a good start and it made me look for the original document (Thanks), but I think a more careful analysis is needed.

March 1st, 2010

IIT Bhubaneswar landscape – next to picturesque and historical Barunei hill

March 1st, 2010

NISER Bhubaneswar building plans

March 1st, 2010

NISER Bhubaneswar Campus Layout

March 1st, 2010

15 crores in the Union Budget for converting BESU to IIEST

Item 69 of the MHRD Department of Higher Education budget has 15 crores for IIEST. The explanation later says the following:

69. Setting up of Indian institute of Engineering, Science & Technology (IIEST): A State University, namely, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur is proposed to be converted into a Central Government Institute, namely, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).

Odisha must continue to push the conversion of VSSUT Burla to an IIEST.

11 comments February 26th, 2010

Progress on ESIC medical college – Expected to be operational in 2012: Samaja

February 14th, 2010

Telegraph lists the 44 deemed universities that were in the middle tier – found wanting but given 3 years to fix issues

Thanks to Rahul Barik for the pointer. The Telgraph article is at http://telegraphindia.com/1100214/jsp/nation/story_12104169.jsp. Following is the graphics from that web site.

1 comment February 14th, 2010

Some ESIC Medical College related correspondences between Bhubaneswar and Delhi

February 14th, 2010

All states to have a KISS like 40 acre residential school-college combo for tribals: Samaja

1 comment February 11th, 2010

Sambalpur University to have a IIIT like IT institute; State to give 10 crores.

Update: Following is from Samaja.

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

The State Government has decided to set up a technical university in Sambalpur. This university would be christened as Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology. The State Government has provided Rs 10 crore for this institute.

The Pioneer news above is a bit inaccurate. As far as I know it will be a part of Sambalpur University. The idea was mooted by Sambalpur University VC (who was earlier a Computer Science professor at University of Hyderabad) Prof. Arun Pujari. I have seen part of the proposal. Prof. Pujari had a very good proposal. His proposal and persistent efforts to get it approved finally got enthusiastic support from the IT Secretary Mr. Pradipta Mahaptra, the RDC and the Additional Chief Secretary Mr. S. P. Nanda and higher education officials (HE Secretary Mr. M. Padhi and others) and ministry. Kudos to all of them.

With the establishment of this Odisha will soon have three IIIT type institutes in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Sambalpur.

Special thanks to Prof. Arun Pujari. He has several other innovative plans for Sambalpur University. He has also made some very good hires in the Science disciplines at Sambalpur University.  If he continues at the current rate he will be remembered as one of the best VCs of Sambalpur University. Lets support his innovative initiatives with all our heart.

17 comments February 11th, 2010

The earlier mentioned PHFI center in Bhubaneswar will be an IIPH (Indian Institute of Public Health); Will open this July

Update3: From Samaja – 10% seats will be reserved for students from Odisha.

Update2: From Dharitri

Update: Business Standard has more details on this. Following are some excerpts.

Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik said, … “IIPH, in consultation with the state government, will impart training programmes for enhancing the capacity of the public health functionaries across all levels. The institute will offer Post-Graduate diploma programmes in Public Health Management, Health Economics, Health Care Financing, Health Policy, Biostatistics and Data Management. In addition, IIPH will conduct two-year diploma course in Public Health and Masters in Public Health”, he added.

… Reddy, the PHFI president, said, “Once the IIPH campus is fully operational, it will offer training short-term training programmes to 500 people and long-term training to 300 others.

As per the IIPH web pages currently the following courses are offered by the existing IIPHs.

• Delhi: PG Diploma in (a) Clinical Research (b) Public Health Management and (c) Health Economics, Health Care Financing and Health Policy
• Hyderabad: PG Diploma in (a) Biostatistics and Data Management
• Gandhinagar: PG Diploma in (a) Public Health Management

Earlier when it was announced that PHFI centers will open in Bhubaneswar and Balasore it was not clear what kind of center it would be.  (See also here and here.) Following is an excerpt from a PTI report that says an IIPH will start in Bhubaneswar this July.

Orissa will soon get an Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) here which will start functioning from July this year.

An MoU in this regard was signed between the state government and the New Delhi-based Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for establishment of an IIPH here at an investment of Rs 140 crore.

"The institute will deal in education, training and research on prioritised health problems of the state," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said while attending a function on the occasion.

While the state government had agreed to give 40 acres of land free of cost at Kumarbasta village near here to establish the IIPH, the PHFI would invest the money for the purpose, Patnaik said.

Considering the real need with respect to containing Cholera, Malaria and other diseases that frequently break out in the hinterlands the IIPH in Bhubaneswar must establish branches in the hinterlands of Odisha.

2 comments February 10th, 2010

P. Chidambaram on Xavier’s institutes in India; Odisha should speed up establishment of Xavier University

Following is an excerpt from his speech transcript in Business Standard.

It is in this dreary world of higher education in India that we have shining examples, such as St Xavier’s College. It was founded by the Society of Jesus. Long before Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Dr Zakir Hussain, Dr Humayun Kabir and my good friend Shri Kapil Sibal, there was an intrepid soul named Fr H Depelchin. Along with six Belgian Jesuits, he arrived in Kolkata and founded the St Xavier’s College.

The college has been in the service of the nation for 150 years. Not only in Kolkata, but in many other parts of India, the Society of Jesus has rendered yeoman service to the cause of education. Its 153 high schools, 38 university colleges, 14 technical institutes and five business administration institutes teach, at any given time, over 230,000 students belonging to every section of the society. St Xavier’s alone has over 4,000 students.

Like every Jesuit educational institution, St Xavier’s College has an admission policy that is biased in favour of the poor, especially the socially and financially marginalised, and I commend the college on its sense of social responsibility. We are beholden to the Jesuits for the unwavering dedication, the sense of duty, and the strict discipline they bring to their work and to the institutions founded by them.

I passed through a Jesuit institution and I fondly remember the great teachers: Fr Murphy, Fr Sequira, Fr Coyle, Fr Lawrence Sundaram, Fr Amascua and Fr Yedanapally. It surprises me even today how so many of them could leave such an indelible impression in a period of barely one year.

We are still debating the norms and values that must prevail in an institution of higher learning, and especially the place of the non-government sector in providing higher education. I recognise and support the role of the private sector in higher education, but I am absolutely clear in my mind that the private sector in higher education ought not to mean private business in higher education. As far as I am aware, no great university in the world was established for the purpose of profit. I believe that some activities in a society must stand outside the world of profit and higher education, in my view, ranks first amongst such activities.

For over 150 years, the Society of Jesus has done just that in Kolkata, in Chennai and in many other towns and cities. For that and for many other blessings that they brought to India, we thank them and we salute them.

(Excerpts from Home Minister P Chidambaram‘s valedictory address at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) in Kolkata on January 17, 2010)

The above is very relevant to the proposal of a Xavier University in Odisha. The Odisha government should expedite that proposal.

3 comments February 7th, 2010