Samaja: Minister Chandrasekhar Sahu meets with the PM and suggests alternatives to an IIT
May 13th, 2007
The better NITs and IT-BHU should be upgraded to IITs.
Today, there is an opinion piece in Times of India that suggests that some of the best NITs and IT-BHU should be upgraded to IITs. I wrote along the same lines in an Indian Express op-ed article last year. This is discussed in more detail in the blog specifically on this topic. Here is a quick overview of the issue.
Continue Reading 2 comments May 4th, 2007
Sambalpur rally memorandum: Ashesh Kumar Padhy
Respected Sirs,
This appeal is being raised to you by the intellectuals, students, and professionals of Orissa with a sense of deep anguish and high hopes. Statistics alone speaks volumes about the continued injustice meted to Orissa – may it be allocation for railways, planned grants, and among many, the allocation of central university & IIT to Orissa.
Union minister of state for HRD Shri MAA Fatmi had announced at the inaugural ceremony of NIOS on August 28th 2006 that 2 IITs in Orissa and one in Bihar would be included in the 11th Five Year Plan.
Continue Reading 1 comment April 28th, 2007
Mail to CMO: looking out for all of Orissa in the HRD front
Dear Friends:
Its time to convey to the Orissa government that they need to look out for all of Orissa and not just BBSR/CTC/Puri areas.
Following is a draft letter that one can send to the CM (cmo at ori.nic.in) about developing higher education and medical opportunities outside of the BBSR/CTC/Puri area. This is a draft. Please make changes to your liking.
If I missed your favorite location, please add them in your letter.
best regards
Chitta
Continue Reading 9 comments April 11th, 2007
Update on Orissa School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar: an email from a GOO official
Dear Sir,
Its a great pleasure to learn about ur interest on OSME. The college has become a constituent college of BPUT. Govt. have sanctioned 5 crores & alloted 37 Ac land. The bldg. construction work is likely to start during April 2007 by IDCO. Possibly the Inst. will run in the new campus from 2008 session & new branches of Engg.i.e. Electronics, Comp. Sc.& Mineral Processing will be introduced.
The Inst. will run in a Self-Financing mode as per present planning. Govt. is commited to provide 50 Crores for the project. There are some initial administrative problems but hopefully everything will be settled shortly. It probably needs some more serious Govt. attention to bring it to the shape it was visualised. I’m optimistic.
I shall always be in touch with you Sir & seek ur valuable suggestions/guidelines as apart of the project, in making it a Centre of Excellence for Mining & Mineral Processing Engg.
Thank you once again. With kind regards.
4 comments April 8th, 2007
8th April morning 8.30 am AG Square: IIT rally message by Lalit Patnaik
ARE YOU A SWABHIMANI ODIA
One IIT each for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajsthan has been sanctioned with an investment of Rs.4000 crores. Orissa, although promised two IIT by Central Minister for HRD Mr. M Fatmi on 28th August 2006 at Patna, has been befooled with none.
* Orissa being one of the poorest states in terms of infrastructure in education and technology needs establishment of IIT more than any other state.
* Orissa having richest Mineral deposit needs an IIT to provide knowledge and technology base for best utilization of it’s resources.
* Let us not be blamed by our grand children that we have overslept when their future was being dismissed.
1) We demand establishment of an IIT and up gradation of UCE, Burla to IIEST in Orissa.
2) Join for Orissa in our demand on 8th April 2007 morning at 8.30 am in AG square, Bhubaneswar.
Continue Reading 3 comments April 7th, 2007
Agami Orissa organizing a mass rally on the IIT issue: April 8th Sunday in Bhubaneswar (May 15 in Delhi)
(Update: Tathya.in has a nice story on this.)
(From Lalit Patnaik)
Dear friends,
Yesterday, Agamee Odisha has decided to call all it’s members and supportive organisation and also each & every Swabhimani Odia to join the Mass rally to Governor’s House on 8th April’07. Our demand for sanctioning an IIT in Orissa and upgrading UCE, Burla to IIEST will be handed over to Governor. The Memorandum will be sent for Priminister of India through Governor of Orissa. The rally will start from AG square to Governors House on 8th April’07( sunday) and the duration is from 8.30 am to 11 am.
Continue Reading 2 comments April 3rd, 2007
Orissa School of Mining Engineering in Keonjhar
Since 1995 Orissa govt has introduced B.Tech programs at the Orissa School of Mining Engineering in Keonjhar (location). However, so far it has very minimal facilities. In 2006, the Orissa governemnt decided to upgrade it and model it after the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad. They have gone around and obtained pledges from various industries operating in that area and have created a budget of 50+ crores to upgrade this school. They have identified 46 acres of land for the the upgraded school. This was reported in various newspapers in late October 2006 (samaja, statesman, tathya). The new industrial policy 2007 (page 12, 10.2.iii) of the Orissa government which was made in March 2007 also states the Orissa government’s plan regarding this school.
9 comments March 25th, 2007
Ravenshaw University is UGC approved: UCE Burla must be put on a similar path
Ravenshaw University now has UGC approval. It was only in November 2006 that it got approval from the Orissa assembly. Today’s Pioneer reports that it received UGC approval on Febriary 6th. It is now listed in the UGC website of universities in Orissa. Now it awaits the more important status of “Funded by UGC”.
UCE Burla, about which we discussed earlier in December, must be put on a similar path. It must ape BESU (Bengal Engineering and Science University) and CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) both of which are state universities and have the “Funded by UGC” status. See the UGC West Bengal and Kerala pages here and here respectively. In their attempt to improve UCE Burla, efforts are being made for it to get deemed university status. I think they should just go for a state university status and then go all out to get the “Funded by UGC” status. They should send a delegation to BESU and CUSAT to learn some of the secrets of their success.
2 comments February 26th, 2007
Upgrading UCE Burla: Making an Orissa University of Engineering and Applied Sciences (OUEAS)
University College of Engineering, Burla(UCE Burla) in Sambalpur district of Orissa is the oldest Engineering College of Orissa. The Orissa government and many people of Orissa (including UCE Burla alumni) would like UCE Burla to be upgraded to one of the proposed IIESTs (Indian institute of Engineeing Science and Technology).
Continue Reading 1 comment December 9th, 2006