Odisha HRD

IIT JEE 2009

From the various IIT sites, such as http://www.iitg.ernet.in/jee/.

October 30th, 2008

Health Minister’s status report in the Lok Sabha on the AIIMS-like institutes

Following is from http://164.100.24.209/newls/textofdebatedetail.aspx?sdate=10/23/2008.

श्री राम कृपाल यादव (पटना)  :  उपाध्यक्ष महोदय, मैं आपके माध्यम से माननीय स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जी का ध्यान आकर्षित करना चाहता हूं। पूरे देश में छह अखिल भारतीय अनुसंधान संस्थान (एम्स) खोलने की बात हुई थी। मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र पटना में भी एम्स खोलने की बात कही गई थी। दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण स्थिति है कि लगभग पांच साल पहले इसका काम शुरू हुआ था, लेकिन आज तक केवल चाहरदीवारी का ही निर्माण हुआ है। शिलान्यास के समय एम्स को कार्यरूप में शुरू करने के लिए वर्ष 2009 तक का समय रखा गया था। बिहार में कोई भी उत्कृष्ठ अस्पताल नहीं है। इस कारण दिल्ली के एम्स अस्पताल में 60 परसेंट बिहार के लोग अपना इलाज करवाने आते हैं। बिहार में गरीबी है, फटेहाली है इस कारण कई लोग इलाज कराने के लिए दिल्ली आ भी नहीं पाते हैं। बिहार के लोगों को स्वास्थ्य लाभ लेने के लिए बहुत दिक्कतों का सामना करना पड़ता है। अगर बिहार में एम्स अस्पताल खुल जाएगा, तो न सिर्फ बिहार के लोगों को, बल्कि बिहार से सटे नेपाल, असम तथा आसपास के इलाकों के लोग भी लाभांवित हो सकेंगे। कई बार हमने सदन के माध्यम से माननीय मंत्री जी का ध्यान आकर्षित कराया है। आश्वासन मिलने के बावजूद भी आज तक इस बारे में तेज रफ्तार से काम नहीं हो रहा है। पता नहीं यह काम कितने वर्षों में पूरा होगा।

उपाध्यक्ष महोदय : आपने अपनी बात कह दी है। अब आप समाप्त कीजिए।  You are now repeating the same thing.

श्री राम कृपाल यादव (पटना)  : कई लोगों के पास दिल्ली इलाज के लिए आने के लिए भाड़े के पैसे नहीं होते हैं। मंत्री जी यहां बैठे हैं, मैं आपके माध्यम से माननीय मंत्री जी से कहना चाहता हूं कि वे इस बारे में उत्तर दें कि कब से काम शुरू होगा और कब काम खत्म होगा। बिहार जैसे गरीब देश में लोगों को इलाज कराने में बहुत परेशानी होती है।

SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN (BALASORE): Sir, hon. Minister is here.  He should reply not only to the hon. Member’s question but other questions also.  I have asked a number of questions.

MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: I cannot compel the Minister to reply.

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. ANBUMANI RAMADOSS): Sir, under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana the Government of India intends to start six new AIIMS like institutions in States like  Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.  The CCA had given approval only in 2006.  Since then we have been going through a lot of process.  One tender was un-responsive.  Another tender was a single bidder.  We had to go through the project management consultants.  In all we have to go through a lot of process and there was a delay.  I accept the responsibility for delay on part of my Ministry.  Nevertheless, I had again asked them to quicken the process.  Finally, I could say that the construction work has started in five out of six AIIMS like institutions, including Bihar, Orissa and Rajasthan.  Except Bhopal, work at other five sites has already begun and at Bhopal the work will start in the beginning of November.

          I categorically assure that the work has started and the entire construction work will be over in another two-and-a-half to three years and it will be fully functional.  Not only that, we also want to upgrade some more institutions in Northern part of the country.  We have added some more institutions, which again after getting the approval we will inform the hon. House.

SHRI J.M. AARON RASHID (PERIYAKULAM): Sir, since the hon. Minister belongs to Tamil Nadu, he should see to it that Tamil Nadu also has such an institution.

SHRI P.S. GADHAVI (KUTCH): Sir, I would like to raise a very important issue concerning my constituency regarding the development of Jakhau Fishery Harbour Project.… (Interruptions)

श्री राम कृपाल यादव (पटना)  : महोदय, मैं स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जी को तमाम राज्य के लोगों की तरफ से धन्यवाद देना चाहता हूं, जिनको इन्होंने उपहार देने का काम किया है। स्वाईं जी आप भी मंत्री जी को धन्यवाद दे दीजिए।

श्री खारबेल स्वाईं (बालासोर)  : मैं कई बार मंत्री जी को धन्यवाद दे चुका हूं।

Orissa should push for the upgradation of MKCG Medical college to the level of an AIIMS.

1 comment October 25th, 2008

Japan to help IIT Hyderabad in graduate programs and in developing a management program

Following is an excerpt from a report in thaindian.com.

A new Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) coming up in Hyderabad will see close Japanese partnership at the post-graduate level in key areas, including setting up of a Japanese-style business management course, and increased funding for purchase of technical and research equipment to make it into an institution of excellence.A working group that has submitted its report for establishing such an institution with Japanese-Indian collaboration said environment and energy, digital communication, design and manufacturing, nano-technology and nano-science, and civil engineering would be fields that would given a fresh thrust.

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had set up a working group in August last year to zero in on a new IIT that would see Japanese assistance.

… In addition courses on Japanese-style business management, a key strength of the country’s industry, will also be introduced. While faculty and student exchanges will happen regularly, the premier institute will also set up a Japanese language course for students that could help them find jobs in Japan in the future.

…  "Collaboration on the new IIT will be implemented with a long term perspective in mind based on human exchange an joint work. This will be viewed possibly as a ten-year programme,” said a senior official.

2 comments October 22nd, 2008

IIT Hyderabad takes the lead in starting Ph.D programs

Among the new IITs, IIT Hyderabad has advertised to admit Ph.D students  and will start its  Ph.D program in 2009.  Following is from its announcement at http://www.iith.ac.in/index-curr.php?p=2008Admissions_PhD_Announcement.

Admission to the PhD Programs

Advertisement No.: IITH/2008/Admissions/1

 

Applications are invited for the session commencing from January 2009 for admission to the Doctor Philosophy (PhD) programs in

(a) Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering;

(b) Sciences: Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics; and

(c) Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS): Languages, Psychology, Economics, and Management.

 

Minimum Qualifications

(a) Engineering: M.Tech./M.E./M.Sc.(Engineering) degree with first class or equivalent in the respective or allied areas. Candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology or Master’s degree in Sciences in an allied area with exceptional academic record and possessing a valid GATE score may also apply.

(b) Sciences & HSS: M.Sc./M.A. degree with first class or equivalent in respective or allied areas with a valid GATE/UGC Net/CSIR JRF/NBHM score.

 

General Information

Financial support (Assistantship/Scholarship) will be provided to all students, who are Indian citizens, enrolled in the Ph.D. program and who do not receive any other form of financial assistance. Sponsored candidates from Government of India R&D Laboratories shall also be considered for Ph.D. Programs; sponsored candidates do not require GATE qualification and will not be paid any scholarship.

 

Reservation

Reservations will be 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST and 27% for OBC. Also, up to 3% reservation shall apply as per Government of India rules for persons with disability (PD) in each category.

 

Application form in Pdf Format can be downloaded here.
Application form in Microsoft Word Format can be downloaded here.

PhD Reference Letter form in Pdf click here.

PhD Reference Letter form in Microsoft word click here.
Candidates desirous of applying for more than one program must send separate applications for each program. Applications should be sent on or before 30 October 2008 to:

 

          Professor C.V.R.Murty

Co-Chair, IIT Hyderabad Task Force

          Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

          Ordnance Factory Campus

          Yeddumailaram 502205

          Andhra Pradesh, India

eMail: dac@iitm.ac.in or iith@iitm.ac.in

18 comments October 16th, 2008

NISER wiki and NISER’s visiting faculty

NISER has a nice wiki page which has more information than its web page. Browsing through its wiki, especially the faculty list, one gets the impression that NISER has hired some young Ph.Ds as visiting faculty. I guess the visiting faculty position for the young PhDs is like a untenured position and some of them may be offered a full-time position. The current young visiting faculty are:

Physics:

• Sudakshina Prusty, Ph.D IIT Delhi, Post-doc experience at IISc Bangalore
• Subir Mukhopadhyay, Post doctoral Experience at University of Massachusetts; Visiting Research Scientist Experience at Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar
• Prasanjit Samal, Ph.D IIT Kanpur
• Subhashis Bhattacharya, Ph.D

Chemistry:

• Moloy Sarkar, University of Hyderabad
• C. S. Purohit, Ph.D IIT Kanpur
• Sanjib Kar, IIT Bombay, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka, Japan
• Satyanarayan Pal, Ph.D 2003 from University of Hyderabad

Mathematics:

• Deepak K Dalai, Ph.D ISI Kolkata (2006), Post-doctoral Experience INRIA France
• Sanjay Parui, Ph.D ISI Bangalore, Post-doctoral ISI Kolkata (2006)
• Kamal Lochan Patra, Ph.D IIT Kanpur (2008)
• Lingaraj Sahu, Ph.D, ISI Kolkata, ISI Bangalore

Biology:

• Rona Banerjee, PhD 2005, Shah Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata (Note: She had enquired about NISER in Orissalinks in September 2007.)
• Harapriya Mohapatra , University of Delhi, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar
• Rajendra Behera, Post doctoral experience at University of Hyderabad and IISc Bangalore

1 comment October 16th, 2008

Comparative Data for IITs and NITs during 2007-2008: from the MHRD 2007-08 annual report

2 comments October 12th, 2008

RIEs to offer International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Realising the increasing role of counsellors to guide school students with diligence during tough times, NCERT has decided to change the format of its diploma programme in counselling from next session and raise the seat strength to make it accessible to more aspirants. 

The redesigned programme called International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling will now be available through both distance/online as well as face to face modes.     

…  The programme will also be extended to the five Regional Institute of Education (RIEs), situated in Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Mysore and Shillong, instead of only in Delhi," sources added. Each centre will have 50 seats each.     

So far, the programme was only being imparted in Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations here in the capital.     

The repackaged course, developed in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, will comprise three phases.     

The first six months would be devoted to guided self learning through distance and online mode, the next three months to intensive face to face training and the remaining period will be focused on internship.     

Classes of the one year programme will start from January next year.     

The course is open for in-service teachers, untrained guidance personnel with a teaching degree and post graduates in psychology, child development and human resource development among others.

5 comments October 10th, 2008

Centre to send a team to assess proposed IIT sites

Press Trust of India reported the following.

Unhappy with the sites offered by four states for setting up the new IITs, the Centre has decided to make an assessment about the "suitability" of the locations for the elite institutions.

The HRD Ministry has set up a committee, headed by its Additional Secretary Ashok Thakur, which will visit the sites offered by Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for inspection.

"The committee will visit and ascertain the suitability of the sites. If they do not give convincing reports, states will be asked to offer new sites," a senior HRD Ministry official told PTI.

The other members of the committee are A K Dey, former director of IIT-Bombay, K Narayan Rao, member secretary of AICTE, and the directors of the IITs who have been given the responsibility of mentoring these institutes.

2 comments October 8th, 2008

Searching the web for recent news on AIIMS-like institute in Bhubaneswar

The following undated item was found in http://mohfw.nic.in/Advtertisementhll.htm.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE

Hindustan Latex Limited, on behalf of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare invites Application for appointment of

EOI for appointment of IT/HIS Consultant

Educational Qualification:          B – Tech in Computer Science/Information System Management/ Electronics & Communication Engineering.

Work Experience:

Essential: 2 years’ experience in designing/implementing Hospital Information System

          Desirable:

a)   Hands on Experience and Skills in networking & communication technology

b)   Experience in preparing users requirement specification (URS) and system requirement specification (SRS) for large multi – speciality hospitals.

c)    Strong trouble-shooting and communication skills, both written and verbal

          Remuneration: Negotiable

          Duration of contract: 12 months.

Duties and Responsibilities:

EOI for appointment of Medical Education Technology consultant

Educational Qualification:

Essential:          MBBS + MD or MS

Desirable:        PhD

Work Experience:

Essential: Minimum 15 years as faculty in a medical College institution with at least 5 years as professor or HOD

Desirable: Experienced in devising study material with help of medical education technology.

Age: Up to 65 years (retired persons below 65 can also apply)

Remuneration: Negotiable

Duration of contract: 12 months.

Brief description of Job Profile:

Government of India, MoH&FW proposed to engage a fulltime Medical Education Technology Consultant for finalizing the curriculum including e-lecturers for the six AIIMS-like institutions being set up at Bhopal, Jodhpur, Rishikesh, Raipur, Bhubaneswar and Patna. Each of the institution would train 100 undergraduates and similar number of PG/PhD students every year. The medical Education consultant will help the Ministry in the curriculum design and training that is appropriate in a state –of-the-art Medical Education, using latest tools of technology. The consultant will indicate best practice to ensure adequate resource pooling and networking between the six AIIMS-like institutions and other existing GOI institutions. The consultant will also provide a road map; work plan to operationalize the preparation of e-lectures for the training of medical students/Doctors.

  The following item was found in http://cga.nic.in/html/BulletinBoard_GroupA.htm.

Interested NFSG/JAG Officers may get further details from

Shri. Sanjeev Mishra, Joint Controller General of Accounts on Phone No.24648254 or Group-A Section on Phone No. 24645814.

Following are excerpts from http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20080913/814/tnl-five-medical-colleges-to-be-upgraded.html.

Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh is expected to announce the "much-awaited" scheme to upgrade Amritsar Medical College under the Pradhan Mantri Swastha Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), Phase II, during his visit to Amritsar starting on September 15.

It is learnt that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who has long been pressing this demand, recently met the PM for this. Amritsar is one of the five medical colleges that the Union Health Ministry has listed for upgradation under Phase II, the others being Aligarh, Nagpur, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, besides two AIIMS-like institutes in Uttar Pradesh and Bengal. "The proposal has gone to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and will be soon put before the Cabinet," a senior official told The Indian Express.

… While the cost of upgrading each existing site is Rs 150 crore, the AIIMS-like institutes will require an investment of Rs 750 crore each. For Phase I, meanwhile, one institute each will be set up in the states of Bihar (Patna), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur),Chhattisgarh (Raipur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh).

…

Even though the necessary funds were approved for the Phase I sites in 2004-2005, they are yet to be completed despite the 2008 deadline. Although work on each centre has started, the Government has extended the deadline by two years.

The delay has come at a heavy price. Initially, the approximate expenditure was Rs 280 crore for each institute, but "in March 2006, financial projections were made and it was set at Rs 330 crore each. This is expected to go up to at least Rs 450 crore, as the prices of construction material have gone up," said a senior official in the Health Ministry. Officials blame the poor response of developers to their tenders as a major cause of the setback.

October 7th, 2008

Bill to ammend IIT act (to include the new IITs) to be placed in the next parliament session

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Indiaedunews.

The Central Government will amend the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 to make the new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) eligible to award degrees to students.

The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2008 will be tabled in the coming session of the Parliament.

The new IITs are currently operating as registered societies and to be able to award degrees to its students, their names will have to be incorporated into the existing Act.

"A society does not have the power to award degrees to students. For the new IITs, currently operating as societies, their names will have to be incorporated into the Act", an official from the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry said.

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

September 23rd, 2008

IIT Bhubaneswar advertises for faculty positions and for registrar

The following is from http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/bhub_ad.php. (Thanks to Saumya for the tip.)

Advertisement for Faculty Positions and Registrar of IIT Bhubaneswar

• Invitation for Faculty Positions

  Download Application Form PDF / DOC

• Invitation for the post of Registrar

  Download Application Form PDF / DOC

The faculty ad starts as follows:

IIT Bhubaneswar (Orissa) invites applications for faculty positions at the level of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in the following disciplines.
Disciplines : Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Humanities & Social Sciences (Economics, English, Psychology)

This suggests that next year they will admit students in Computer Science, in addition to Civil, Electrical and Mechanical to which they admitted students this year.

5 comments September 18th, 2008

Applying for faculty positions at IIT Bhubaneswar

Update: See http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/bhub_ad.php for the ad.

As per  Prof. Damodar Acharya, the director of IIT Kharagpur, the mentor school for IIT Bhubaneswar, a specific advertisement for faculty positions at IIT Bhubaneswar will be coming out soon.

Until then interested candidates are requested to send their cv to him with a cover letter saying that they would like to apply for IIT Bhubaneswar. His email address is director@iitkgp.ernet.in.

The ad will have additional details. But until the ad for IIT Bhubaneswar comes out the ad for IIT Kharagpur at http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/faculty_top.php may be considered as a rough guideline. The salary scales will be same as that of IIT Kharagpur as well as all the other IITs. 

22 comments September 8th, 2008

Brief updates on NISER Bhubaneswar

1. NISER Bhubaneswar has a redesigned web page with information on faculty.
2. A competition for Architects to design the NISER campus will be announced in the near future.
3. NISER is going through the faculty applications that it received and checking the references. It expects to invite selected candidates for interview in the coming months.
4. The Director appointment is still waiting for the final seal of approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. However, the identified Director, Prof. T K Chandrasekar visits NISER once in a while and is in the loop regarding major decisions. The approval from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is expected to come any time.
5. NISER is in touch with IIT Bhubaneswar officials to co-ordinate some of the infrastructure requirements, such as a water line to the campus.

September 2nd, 2008

Some details on the proposed 20 IIITs across the country

Following are excerpts from a report in livemint.com.

In the new IIITs, the government is actively considering a model where a majority stake goes to the private sector, while reducing the government to a minority shareholder. So, on an equity base of Rs30 crore, the government would get Rs14.90 crore maximum; and industry, Rs15.10 crore minimum.

“This is where the concept of autonomy begins. Even IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and IITs, which are autonomous institutes, can’t decide on fees and number of seats without government approval because they are dependent on it for grants,” said Rajdeep Sahrawat, vice-president of industry lobby group National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), who led the drafting of the detailed project report on IIITs.

The government is also looking at a loan model, prepared by Nasscom, for IIITs to be set up as autonomous bodies, where the government would give loans to the institutes—and not grant funds—to be paid back over 10 years after a five-year moratorium.

The partners in setting up these IIITs would be the HRD ministry, the governments of the respective states where each institute will be established and industry members.

 

The committee member said it is hoping the model has no management quota. “There will be a board of governors that will decide policy matters for the institutes, and have representations from academia, industry and government,” this person said.

To further clip government interference, the board of governors at these IIITs will have just one government representative, based on the policy of “one seat per investor”.

“Each institution should have three-four industry partners, with a pedigree for research. Even the age of the people to be appointed to the governing board can’t exceed 70 years,” the member said.

With a focus on research, the new IIITs will also have a faculty-student ratio of 1:10, as in IITs. While Nasscom’s public-private partnership model for the new IIITs skips any mention of reservations for students from backward classes, a provision for merit-cum-means scholarships for the students is proposed, where an institute is granted subsidy from the government for the scholarships granted.

This, however, continues to be the toughest call for the government. “The industry wants merit to be the sole criteria, but the government would like to push through reservations, as applicable in other educational institutions. However, the IIITs would have some kind of a relaxation of marks for students from certain backward classes,” the member said.

2 comments August 29th, 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