Odisha HRD

Prof. Pankaj Jalote will be the founding director of IIIT Delhi

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday formally launched the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and expressed her commitment to make it a world-class institute.

"The government has been giving top priority to promote IT. Setting up of the IIIT in Delhi would give a fillip to acceptability of IT, which has ensured transparency and helped in developing new work culture," Dikshit told a press conference.

… The institute’s board is chaired by Kiran Karnik, a leading IT sector honcho, and it would have Pankaj Jalote, a computer science professor from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, as its founding director.

The board also includes Pheroz Vandrevala, R. Chandrashekar, S. Sadagopan, Ranjit Roy Choudhary and two principal secretaries from the Delhi government.

3 comments August 14th, 2008

IIT Bhubaneswar location search reaching a conclusion

Following is from Tathya.in.

The Government of Orissa has identified the site at Argul under Jatni tahsil near Bhuabneswar.  The entire area is 891 acres out of which 230 acre is forest land. While there will be delay in forest clearance, the Government of Orissa has opted for free patch of land. So the State Government has decided to earmark 500 acres of clean land for the IIT-Bh. Accordingly the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to the Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh to begin construction work in the site.

How ever the experts feel that the entire 891 acres of land, which has been crisscrossed by train lines and black top road have to be given a geometrical shape in keeping the future of the institution in view. Whole area is to be developed as a compact area and infrastructure development has to be taken up immediately, advised an expert. Black top roads are to be rearranged, so that when the IIT is completed than there will be  no through fare. To begin with there is the need of the water supply to be augmented at the first instance. At least 3 million gallon per day (MGD) water is needed and laying pipelines from Naraj will cost around Rs.46 crore. Laying pipelines to Naraj will take at least 2 years, feel the experts. Similarly, power supply to the area through 33 kv line is necessary and drawing the power line will cost Rs.6 crore. So at the first instance Rs.52 crore is needed for the basic infrastructure facilities, said an official.

The State Government earlier located 4 places like Garabandhu (Malipada), Banki (Dampara), Mundali (Ramdaspur) and Argul (Jatni). Out of the 4 places Argul has been chosen keeping in view all the aspects, said an official. How ever it is advisable to step up infrastructure development before handing over it to the Centre, feel an expert.  And the State Government should fund the improvement expenditure, said he.

Following is from Sambada.

August 11th, 2008

More Billionaires follow Anil Agarwal in establishing universities; though at a much smaller scale

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard on this.

HCL’s Founder and Chairman Shiv Nadar is making a second foray into university education having sought 300 acres of land in Noida, near New Delhi, to set up a Rs 300-crore multi-disciplinary university.

Former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramaniam is said to be advising Nadar on this venture. The university will be residential and is expected to be operational by 2009.

The Forbes-listed Indian billionaire joins Mukesh Ambani and Anil Agarwal in committing funds to a major university project (see table).

… This university will be Nadar’s second major venture in education after Chennai-based SSN Institutions, which offers graduate courses and research programmes in engineering, biomedical engineering, IT and management.

“Education is a sunrise sector. Investments in this sector are limited, but the returns are very promising. This is why even companies are finding this interesting,” said another source, who is part of Nadar’s university development team.

India’s higher education sector is worth Rs 100,000 crore today and is expected to treble over three to five years, said industry players, as faster economic growth raises the demand for qualified people.

In 2006, Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Resources Plc, announced plans for a multi-disciplinary university in Orissa, where it is setting up an aluminium smelter, with an endowment fund of up to $1 billion and modelled on Harvard, Stanford and Oxford.

Mukesh Ambani is also reportedly planning a university in Pune at an investment of Rs 100 crore to offer courses in science, arts and professional disciplines.

August 11th, 2008

UGC recommends 735 additional universities; actions that Orissa needs to take

Following is from a report in Economic Times.

To increase the enrolment rate in higher education, a UGC committee has suggested starting an additional 735 universities in the country during the 11th Plan ending 2012.

The UGC committee, comprising Prof Duraisami of Madras University and Prof Sudhansu Bhusan of National University of Education Planning and Administration, has said that more universities will be needed to increase gross enrolment rate — the percentage of youths in the age group of 18-24 years in higher education — to 15 per cent from the 10 per cent at present.

The committee, set up to suggest reforms on the affiliation system and monitoring of education in 11th plan, has worked out a formula of 20,000 students per university to achieve the target. As per this criteria, the requirement would be 735 universities in the country by 2012, the report said.

"We will study the report and make a final suggestion to the state governments for starting the new varsities," UGC Chairman Prof Sukhadeo Thorat said.

At present there are 388 universities in the country. The committee’s report assumes significance in view of the estimation of National Knowledge Commission last year, when it said that at least 1,500 universities are needed to make India a knowledge society.

The enrolment ratio in higher education is abysmal 10 per cent in India. It is less than eight per cent in states like Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

Orissa’s population is 36,706,920, while India’s population is 1,129,866,154. So Orissa’s population is 3.24% of India’s population. So if India’s universities need to increase to a total of 388+735 = 1123. Then Orissa’s share should be 3.24% of that, which is 36.4. Considering Orissa at less than 8% is behind the national average of 10% in terms of enrolment ratio, Orissa will need to have at least 45.5, or say 46 universities. (This is based on using the 8% number for Orissa. It is actually a little over 6 for Orissa. So another 10 may be needed. But for the 11th plan lets stick with the number 46.)

• The exisiting universities in Orissa are (13): Utkal, Sambalpur, Berhampur, NOU, FMU, OUAT, KIIT, SOS, Culture U, Ravenshaw, Sri Jagannath, NIT RKL, BPUT.
• The new universities that are under construction are (8): WCCU, KBK Central, Sri Sri U, Vedanta U, ICFAI, Jagadguru, National Law U, Orissa Open University
• Some institutes that are operating or under construction and that could become universities are (4): IIIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Bhubaneswar, NISER Bhubaneswar, AIIMS Bhubaneswar
• Some institutes that may be opened and become universities are (3) : IIIT Berhampur, BITS, NID
• Some colleges that have applied for deemed university status are (8): Krupajal, CEB, ASBM, Gunupur, Koustuv, Hi-Tech, CV Raman, UCE/OIT.
• So the state needs to make at least 10 more universities.
  • One should be made in each of the undivided 13 districts which do not have a university yet. The 13 undivided districts are: Puri, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Baleswar, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Phulbani, Dhenkanal, Kendujhar, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj. Among them the five districts of Balangir, Kalahandi (Bhawanipatna), Phulbani, Dhenkanal (Angul) and Kendujhar do not have a university nor any new one has yet been announced. So the state should establish 5 universities, one each in each of these undivided districts.
  • CET Bhubaneswar should be made to a university.
  • A comprehensive university should be established in Rourkela.
  • A Bhubaneswar-Cuttack metropolitan university consisting of all government colleges in the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack area should be made.
  • Berhampur medical college should be made to a unitary health university.
  • A health university encompassing all of Orissa, with possible head quarters in Naraj should be made.
• During the 12th and 13th plan at least the undivided districts which do not have two universities should get their second one (8): Those would be Baleswar (Bhadrakh), Balangir (Titlagarh), Kalahandi (Nabarangpur), Koraput (Malkangiri), Phulbani (Boudha), Dhenkanal, Kendujhar (Joda) and Mayurbhanj (Bangiriposi).
  • In addition universities may be established in major population centers without an university. These places include (5): Rayagada, Kalinganagar, Paradeep, Parlakhemundi, Jharsuguda,
  • And in districts which do not yet have a university (5): Bargarh, Deogarh, Kendrapada, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Sonepur.

If someone thinks that the above is too many, then they should compare the number of universities in California, whose population,at 36,553,215, is around the same as that of Orissa. However, Orissa’s area at 155,707 sq km is less than 40% of California’s area of 410,000 sq km.

9 comments August 10th, 2008

Update on the HRD initiatives; location of 10 new NITs

Update: As per http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41316&kwd= possible location of 9 of the 10 NITs are:

? … Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

ï‚· The NIT at Goa   may also cater to the needs of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.

ï‚· Pudducherry or Andaman & Nicobar may have one common NIT, which will cater the needs of each.

Following are excerpts from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41190.

… The initiative to set up eight new Indian Institutes of Technology is on course with the first academic sessions starting in 2008 in six of the new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat . The session for IIT Orissa has already been started at lIT Kharagpur in July 2008 and classes will begin for IIT Punjab at lIT Delhi in Sept 2008. And the academic session for the other 4 new IITs, will begin during August 2008.

Out of the 7 new Indian Institutes of Management proposed the IIM at Shillong has already commenced its first academic session from July 2008. The remaining six IIMs will be established in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.

The government proposal to set up five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research is on schedule. Of these two IISERs at Pune and Kolkata were inaugurated in 2006-07 and are now fully functional, and the IISER Mohali started its first academic session in 2007-08. Two more IISERs at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will commence their first academic sessions in August, 2008.

Two Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs) are being set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada . Classes in both the new SPAs will begin with the academic session of 2008 through temporary campuses. The SPA Bhopal will be mentored by NIT Bhopal while the SPA at Vijayawada will be mentored by SPA, Delhi .

The strengthening of Polytechnics is under way with steps being taken to set up 1000 polytechnics (300 in Government Sector, 300 through PPP mode and 400 private polytechnics); Further 500 existing polytechnics are being expanded and the Community Polytechnics scheme being revamped and their number being increased from 669 to 1000.

Steps are being taken establish 10 new National Institutes of Technology. The likely location of these NITs will be in States/UTs which at present don’t have an NIT.

Sixteen Central Universities are being set up under the initiative seeking to established a Central University in states not having a Central University . Four existing universities; Sagar University in Madhya Pradesh, Bilaspur University in Chhatisgarh, Garhwal University in Uttrakhand and Goa University, are proposed to be taken over and upgraded as Central Universities. The remaining 12 new universities are to be set up in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kamataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

14 World Class Central Universities (WCCU), are proposed with the locations being firmed up in consultation with the Planning Commission. The State Governments have been requested to identify suitable land.

A total of 373 degree colleges will be set up in the districts having GER lower than the national average as identified by the UGC. Out of these districts, about 90 districts have been shortlisted which have less than 6% GER, have less than 4 colleges per lakh of population and are also minority concentration districts. It is proposed to fast-track the starting of the degree colleges in these shortlisted districts this year.

Twenty Indian Institutes of Information Technology are planned with NAASCOM having submitted a project report. The setting up of the IIITs under the PPP mode has been discussed with the States and most of the States agreed to tap not-for-profit private investment, while ensuring that PPP should not lead to any erosion of access to the poor sections of society.

Scholarships for College and University students, based on merit, to non-creamy layer students numbering about 2% of the. student population will be given to those who pass out from various intermediate boards. The scholarship will be Rs.l,000 per month for the first 2 years after which it will be of Rs.2000 per month for the balance period of the professional or other courses in Higher Education. Every year about 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls will benefit from the scheme.

The government is working on an Education Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme. It will be a Central Sector scheme for providing interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the educational loans taken by students belonging to "non-creamy" layer for pursuing professional education in India.

All the Central Educational Institutions are implementing OBC reservations as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 from this year onward on a staggered basis and the necessary funds have been released to all of them, after holding the meetings of the Empowered Committees. All the IITs, IIMs and the Central Universities that are covered under the Act have started giving reservations to OBCs in a staggered manner. As a result of the implementation of OBC reservations in this academic year, there is an increase of over 20500 in the intake capacity in the Central Educational Institutions.

The states and union territories that do not have NITs are:

1. Delhi
2. Uttarakhand
3. Goa
4. Dadra and nagar haveli
5. Pondicherry
6. Andaman and Nicobar islands
7. Lakshadweep
8. Meghalaya
9. Mizoram
10. Manipur
11. Nagaland
12. Arunachal Pradesh
13. Sikkim

So, I guess the majority of the 10 new NITs will be in these states. My guess would be 2, 3, 5, 8-13. (I skipped 1 because I wonder if there is any space left in proper Delhi for an NIT. The rest that I skipped, 4,6 and 7, are very remote as well as hard to reach places.)  That makes 9 NITs. It would be interesting to see where the 10th NIT will be located.

4 comments August 8th, 2008

CM writes to HRDM that the second central university be in Koraput

Following is from a news report in Statesman.

Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik suggested the establishment of the proposed Central university might be at Koraput and demanded for setting up IIT near Bhubaneswar to start as soon as possible.

In two separate missives to Union minister for human resources development Mr Arjun Singh today, the chief minister noted the establishment of proposed Central university at Koraput would reduce the existing disparity in education in the state. Maintaining that Koraput has been a backward region as far as education is concerned, Mr Patnaik said that besides 500 acres of land, the proposed site has water, power, road and rail connectivity.
"The Jeypore airstrip is just 30 km away from Koraput," the CM pointed out. "The Union government should send a technical team and start the university work soon," Mr Patnaik suggested.

He also put emphasis on the early set up of the IIT. The state government has identified 500 acres of land for this purpose and can make available more land. Assuring that the state government would provide all sorts of required support, the chief minister urged for early start of construction work.

7 comments August 6th, 2008

Other Engineering college clusters in Orissa

Berhampur:

1. Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
2. Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
3. National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
4. Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
5. Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
6. Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
7. IIIT Berhampur (planned)
8. Parla Maharaj Engineering College (planned) 
9. Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology Thatadapalli Village, Kotharsing (P.O.) Konisi Tahasil, Berhampur, Ganjam (D. T.) Orissa (planned)

Rourkela-Sundergarh:

1. Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
2. Purushottam Institute of Engineering & Technology Mandiakudar, Rourkela (PIE) Pvt.
3. Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
4. NIT Rourkela
5. Rourkela Institute of Technology At P.O. Kuarmunda, District : Sundergarh Pin 770039 Orissa (planned)

Balasore-Bhadrakh:

1. Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
2. Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
3. Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
4. Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
5. Vijayanjali Institute of Technology At Gadabhanga No. 4 P.O. Khantapara, District : Balasore 756043 Orissa (planned)

Gunupur-Rayagada:

1. Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
2. Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
3. Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
4. Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.

Sambalpur-Baragarh-Jharsuguda:

1. Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
2. Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
3. University College of Engineering Burla (UCE) Govt.

Angul-Talcher:

1. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
2. Adarsha College of Engineering At Saradhapur, P.O. Kumurisingha Dist : Angul, Pin 759122 Orissa (planned)

Koraput-Jeypore:

1. Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
2. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.

Others:

1. Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
2. Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
3. Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.

9 comments August 3rd, 2008

List of Engineering Colleges in the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Dhenkanal area

1. Ajay Binay Institute of Technology Cuttack (ABT) Pvt.
2. Apex Institute of Technology & Management, Pahal Bhubaneshwar (APT) Pvt.
3. Bhubaneswar Engineering College Khurda (BEC) Pvt.
4. BRM International Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (BII) Pvt.
5. C. V. Raman College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CVR) Pvt.
6. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology Bhubaneswar (CPT) Govt.
7. Centurian Institute of Technology Khurda (CIK) Pvt.
8. College of Engineering & Technology Bhubaneswar (CET) Govt.
9. College of Engineering Bhubaneswar Bhubaneshwar (CEB) Pvt.
10. Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies Tangi, Cuttack (DRM) Pvt.
11. Eastern Academy of Science & Technology Phulnakhara, Khurda (EAS) Pvt.
12. Gandhi Engineering College Bhubaneswar (GEC) Pvt.
13. Gandhi Institute for Technology Bhubaneswar (GIF) Pvt.
14. Gandhi Institute of Technological Advancement Badaraghunathpur, Bhubaneswar (GIB) Pvt.
15. Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (GIK) Pvt.
16. Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology & Management Chhaitana Puri (GHT) Pvt.
17. Gurukul Institute of Technology,Janla Bhubaneswar (GKT) Pvt.
18. Hi-Tech Institute of Technology Khurda (HIT) Pvt.
19. Indic Institute of Design & Research Khurda (IID) Pvt.
20. Indus College of Engg. Bhubaneswar (IDU) Pvt.
21. Jagannath Institute of Engineering & Technology Cuttack (JIC) Pvt.
22. Konark Institute of Science & Technology Jatni,Bhubaneswar (KIS) Pvt.
23. Koustav Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (KIT) Pvt.
24. Koustuva Institute of Self Domain (for Women) Bhubaneswar (KID) Pvt.
25. Krupajala Engineering College Pubasasan, Bhubaneswar (KEC) Pvt.
26. Maharaja Institute of Technology,Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (MIK) Pvt.
27. Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology Paniora, Bhubaneswar (MIB) Pvt.
28. Modern Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (MIM) Pvt.
29. Nalanda Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (NIT) Pvt.
30. NM Institute of Engineering & Technology Sijua, Bhubaneswar (NMI) Pvt.
31. Orissa Engineering College Nijigarhkurki, Bhubaneswar (OEC) Pvt.
32. Rajdhani Engineering College Bhubaneswar (REC) Pvt.
33. Silicon Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (SIT) Pvt.
34. Subas Institute of Technology Gyana Vihar, Barang, Bhubaneswar 754 005 Orissa
35. Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology Dhenkanal (SYN) Pvt.
36. TempleCity Institute of Technology & Engineering Khurda (TCT) Pvt.
37. The Techno School Bhubaneswar (TTS) Pvt.
38. Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar (TAT) Pvt.
39. Agricultural Engineering at OUAT, Bhubaneswar
40. KIIT Bhubaneswar
41. ITER Bhubaneswar
42. IIIT Bhubaneswar
43. IIT Bhubaneswar

Following are some that are in the pipeline and most likely to start in 2009.

1. School of Engineering at the proposed World Class Central University
2. HI – Tech College of Engineering, Rasulgarh, Pandara, Bhubaneswar, Orissa
3. International Institute of Engineering & Technology (IIET) 290 Bhatkhuri, Gangapada, Bhubaneswar 752 054 Orissa
4. SRM College of Engineering At Giringaput, P.O. Mendhasala, Orissa
5. PJ College of Management & Technology At Kesora, P.O. Bankual, Bhubaneswar 751 002 Orissa
6. KMBB College of Engineering & Technology At Mahatpalla, Tahasil Khurda Orissa
7. Pan Institute of Technology, Knowledge City Unit – 7, Bhubaneswar 751 003 Orissa
8. Vivekananda Institute of Technology At Chhatabar, P.O. Dandi, Chhatabar P.S. Chandaka, Bhubaneswar Orissa
9. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology (BIT) At Harapur, P. O. Janla District : Khurda, Pin 752 054 Orissa
10. Pioneer Institute of Technology Village : Ambilijhari Mouza : Machhapangi, PS Choudwar, District : Cuttack Orissa
11. MITS College of Engineering Mouza: Alkar At P.O. Janla, Bhubaneswar 751016 Orissa

52 comments August 3rd, 2008

CM writes to HRDM to make UCE Burla an NIT

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday wrote a letter to the Union Ministry of Human Resources, demanding that Burla Engineering College be accorded National Institute of Technology (NIT) status. In his letter to Union Minister of HRD Arjun Singh, the CM said the institution which was established in 1956 in an area of 200 acres, is one of the premier engineering institutes of the State. The institute provides facilities for nearly 500 students.

Following is from Dharitri.

Following are excerpts from a report in Pragativadi.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Union Human Resources Development ministry to accord National Institute of Technology (NIT) status to the Burla Engineering College. 

… It may be mentioned here that there was a vociferous demand for converting the Burla Engineering College to Indian Institute of Technology soon after the Centre’s announcement to set up an IIT in Orissa.

Later, a delegation of the Old Students’ Forum, led by Sambalpur MLA and commerce and transport minister Jayanarayan Mishra had met the chief minister and submitted a memorandum to this effect.

But the state government later expressed its reluctance in this regard as it wanted the IIT location near Bhubaneswar.

The chief minister, however, urged the Centre to accord the NIT status to the premiere engineering college.

Justifying his contention, Patnaik said that the college has been providing education in nine subjects including the BTech while it has got the necessary infrastructure facility for MCA, IT and other IT related courses.

Considering the fact that the college has the reputation of imparting quality education, the chief minister said that there should be no difficulty to accord NIT status to this college.

It may be mentioned here that the former Regional Engineering College at Rourkela has already been accorded with the NIT status.

This is a good step as there are plans to have 10 more NITs during the 11th plan.

2 comments August 3rd, 2008

News on the other new IITs: IIT Gandhinagar to start Computer Science and Civil Engineering next year

Update2 (Aug 20, 2008): IIT Hyderabad classes to start today – New Indian Express. See also this TOI report.

Update1 (Aug 11, 2008): This Telegraph report talks about IIT Roopnagar (Punjab) and other new IITs.

As we mentioned earlier, registration at IIT Bhubaneswar was held on July 23rd with 104 students and classes started soon after that. Following is what has been reported about the other new IITs.

IIT Gandhinagar:

Following is an excerpt from a news report in ThaiIndian.

The new institute is short of faculty and the recruitment process is on. Until this process is over, seven professors and five research assistants from IIT Bombay have been requisitioned for it.

U.A. Yagnik, who teaches physics at IIT Bombay, has been appointed dean of student affairs and academic programme at the new institute.

The first batch has 103 students from different parts of the country, studying in the mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering streams.

In the next academic year B.Tech. courses in civil and computer sciences would be included.

The Gujarat government has spent Rs.7 million for upgrading the infrastructure of the engineering college to make it compatible to the IIT standards.

The central government’s site selection committee headed by Human Resource Development Ministry’s Additional Secretary Ashok Thakur is expected to inspect the new site for the proposed permanent campus Aug 7. 

IIT Rajasthan:

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

IIT Rajasthan opens with 112 students

the IIT Rajasthan was inaugurated Saturday (August 2nd)  by Minister of State for Higher Education D. Purandeswari.

IIT Patna:

Following is  an excerpt from another report in Economic Times.

Human Resource Minister Arjun Singh is scheduled to inaugurate IIT Patna here on Aug 6. The institute will operate out of a temporary campus this year.

"The formal functioning of IIT Patna is all set to start with classes on Aug 7," said dean of IIT Patna Samrendra Dandpat.

IIT Patna is one of the six new IITs being set up in the country.

Dandpat said here on Saturday that all the 109 selected students would attend classes from next week. "We will register the selected students on Aug 6 and classes will begin from next day," he said.

Dandpat said that preparation for setting up laboratories, hostels and classrooms were in the final stage. " IIT Patna will function from the polytechnic premises here now," he added.

There has not been any recent news on IIT Punjab and IIT Hyderabad, especially when they will start.

1 comment August 2nd, 2008

2008 Open-Close ranks for EE and ME at various IITs, ISM and (I)IT-BHU

The following is excerpted from http://jee.iitr.ernet.in/openclose.htm.

To keep all these in perspective, following links ranks with raw score in the IIT JEE exam. It is from http://jee.iitr.ernet.in/aggregate.htm.

Aggregate Total for every 500th rank in Common Merit List

August 1st, 2008

Update on the proposed world class central universities

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The Centre is set to approve a proposal soon to start 14 world-class central universities across the country, … , in an ambitious bid to catch up with the West’s higher education standards.

The proposal for the universities, enunciated in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, will be placed before the cabinet on Thursday and is expected to be cleared soon, top government officials said.

Cabinet recognition is required to formally begin work on the proposal.

The universities will, like other central universities, be funded by New Delhi, but will have the additional mandate of competing in standards with globally renowned varsities like Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge, sources said.

“We expect the cabinet to clear the proposal soon, ideally in one sitting itself. We do not anticipate any opposition,” a senior official at the human resource development ministry said.

Pune, Calcutta, Coimbatore, Mysore, Visakhapatnam, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Patna, Bhopal, Kochi, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Greater Noida have been selected as places where the universities will come up.

“Each of the state governments concerned have identified 700 acres of land. But they cannot begin land acquisition till the cabinet clears the plan,” a source said.

The HRD ministry expects each university to cost over Rs 720 crore, putting the total price tag for the venture at a minimum of Rs 10,080 crore.

Once the cabinet clears the proposal, the HRD ministry plans to hurry through the construction of infrastructure in a bid to try and start academic sessions for “most” of the institutes by 2009, sources said.

“We have been given a clear political indication to get things ready for the launch of the universities by the next academic session,” a source said.

Each campus will have four schools — of engineering, medicine, humanities and sciences — sources said.

Each of the four schools will be built along the lines of India’s best institutions in their field. Unlike existing central varsities, the new centres will focus more on cutting-edge research across streams than on teaching, sources said.

July 30th, 2008

Nominations invited for new IIT directors

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Pragativadi.

The Centre is in the lookout for for the eight new premier institutes of technology (IITs), six of which are set to start in the current academic session and the remaining from 2009-10.

The eight new IITs which are coming up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

The Union Cabinet recently approved establishment of eight new IITs with an estimated cost of Rs 6,080 crore.

The government had also approved creation of 30 faculty posts per year in the first three years of  establishment of each of the new IITs, besides approving posts of a director and registrar. The directors, as per the public notice issued by the ministry, would be appointed after obtaining the approval of competent authority, based on the recommendations of the search-cum-selection committees.  …

The aspirants for the post of directors can send their applications directly to the ministry, while the eminent persons can also nominate candidates and send their recommendations to the selection committee.
Even bureaucrats and officials of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) with requisite experience and qualification can apply for the post of directors through official channel, the notice said.

July 28th, 2008

104 students get admitted to IIT Bhubaneswar

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Over 100 civil, electrical and mechanical engineering students of IIT Bhubaneswar will start their classes on the IIT Kharagpur campus.

The Bhubaneswar institute is one of the six IITs opening this year, but a site for the institute has not yet been finalised in the Orissa capital.

“The Centre has asked us to do the hand-holding. We will hold their classes on our campus till the IIT Bhubaneswar campus is ready,” said Damodar Acharya, the IIT Kharagpur director who is the acting head of the Bhubaneswar institute.

…  We have the facilities to accommodate all the 104 (Bhubaneswar) students. We did not want to arrange for separate classes or laboratories for them, like the other IITs, as we wanted them to be exposed to the world-class facilities available here,” Acharya told a news conference today.

These students will, however, get their degrees from Bhubaneswar.

“We have chosen a few sites for the IIT,” said Orissa industries minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.

According to the Centre’s specifications, 600 to 1,000 acres are required to set up an IIT. The site should also be close to an airport, railway station and national highway. Besides, two million gallons of water should be available every day.

Last month, a two-member team from IIT Kharagpur inspected a few sites in and around Bhubaneswar.

A senior official of the Orissa industries department said a 900-acre plot near Banki, 62km from Bhubaneswar airport and close to the Mahanadi, was judged the most suitable site.

Acharya said the government would allot 40 faculty members for the additional students.

On a related note there is an excellent article about recruiting faculty for the new IITs by Prof. Pankaj Jalote of IIT Delhi. Prof. Abinandan adds to it in his blog post.

2 comments July 24th, 2008

IIT Bhubaneswar first year students status at IIT Kharagpur

As per the details at http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/welcome.php the IIT Bhubaneswar students will be staying mostly in MMM Hall (females in MT Hall). MMM Hall is the largest hostel at IIT Kharagpur and it will also house IIT Kharagpur students.

For classes the 100+ IIT bhubaneswar students will be divided into all the 12 sections; so they will have their section mates as IIT Kharagpur students.

July 22nd, 2008

IIT Bhubaneswar first off the block

As the readers know eight new IITs are being established in India. They are: IIT Bhubaneswar (mentored by IIT Kharagpur), IIT Hyderabad (mentored by IIT Madras), IIT Rajasthan (mentored by IIT Kanpur), IIT Bihar (mentored by IIT Guwahati), IIT Punjab (Mentored by IIT Delhi), IIT Gandhinagar (mentored by IIT Bombay),  IIT Himachal Pradesh (mentored by IIT Roorkee) and IIT Indore (mentored by IIT Bombay). Of these the first six will start classes this year.

The following news mentions that of the six that will start classes this year, admission to IIT Bhubaneswar will start on July 23rd and classes will start immediately after that, while admission to the other IITs will start next month. (Note that classes  at IITs start immediately after admission.) Big thanks to the mentor institution IIT Kharagpur for this. This action is in line with our arguments on advantages of IIT Bhubaneswar over the other new IITs. Following is an excerpt on this from a news item in Economic Times.

Admission to the Bhubaneswar IIT, which is among the six new ones to come up this year, will begin on July 23 at the Kharagpur IIT here, sources said.

120 students will get admission to the new IIT this year and Kharagpur IIT director Damodar Acharya will be its coordinator, they said.

Faculty will be exchanged between the two IITs as and when required and all cooperation and academic support will be extended by the Kharagpur IIT, which is the nearest, in the initial stages, the sources said.

Admission to the rest of the five new IITs would begin next month.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer’s report on this.

"We will ensure that from day one students feel they are studying in an IIT," Professor Acharya said. The IIT Orissa was also registered under the Society Registration Act in the office of IG in Cuttack on Saturday.

1 comment July 19th, 2008