Following up on our earlier article, Odisha must push for an ISMU branch. The logic behind Assam getting an RGIPT branch is that Assam has a lot of petroleum related oil wells and refineries. By the same logic, Odisha tops the states in India with respect to its mineral output. Following is from a report in Business Standard.
With minerals produced in the state in 2009-10 valued at Rs 15,317 crore, Orissa has 13.10 percent share of the total value of minerals produced by major states in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh (7.70 percent), Andhra Pradesh (7.21 percent), Maharashtra (4.92 percent), Gujarat (4.65 percent), Karnataka (3.96 percent), Tamil Nadu (3.21 percent), Rajasthan (2.99 percent), Assam (2.96 percent), West Bengal (2.78 percent).
According to the Economic Survey report (2010-11), the value of minerals extracted in Orissa has gone up by more than four times from Rs 3694 crore to Rs 15,317 crore between 2002-03 and 2009-10 coinciding with the boom in the mineral market during this period.
Orissa boasts of 95 percent of country’s chromite deposit, 92 percent of nickel ore, 55 percent of bauxite and 33 percent of iron ore. Besides, the state has substantial quantity of other minerals and ores like coal, manganese, dolomite, graphite and limestone.
With the iron ore prices spiraling, this commodity naturally leads the pack of minerals in terms of production and value. The state produced 79.7 million tonnes of iron ore in 2009-10 valued at Rs 7976 crore. This is followed by coal (105.5 million tonnes valued at Rs 5548 crore and chromite (3.4 million tonne valued at Rs 1167 crore).
Similarly, iron ore constituted 95.4 percent of the total exports of minerals from the state. About 15 million tonnes of iron ore was exported in 2009-10 valued at Rs 4224 core compared to exports of 0.46 million tonnes of chrome ore valued at Rs 464 crore and 0.25 million tonnes of mineral sand valued at Rs 72.32 crore.
One of the disturbing factors highlighted by the report is that with mining and quarrying sector gradually shifting to labour saving and capital-intensive technology, the total employment in the sector has been decreasing over the years. As a result, the number of direct employment in the mineral sector in Orissa has come down from 55764 in 2005-06 to 43705 in 2009-10.
It may be noted, with mineral deposits mostly occurring in the tribal belt of the state, this sector employs substantial number of tribals.
When ISM was made in Dhanbad, that region was perhaps the leader in mineral output (mainly coal) in the country. Odisha with a variety of minerals needs an ISM branch and we must push for it hard.
Related to that recently the Chief Minister has been concerned about the coal block allocation in Odisha. Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times on that.
Orissa government has taken strong exception to the coal ministry’s unilateral decision to allot coal blocks without consulting the state.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh urging him to review the allocation of coal blocks in Orissa. The coal ministry has allotted 32 coal blocks with an estimated reserve of about 15,000 million tons to 56 private and government agencies.
Mr Patnaik made it clear that a comprehensive regional master plan should have been prepared prior to allotment of huge number of coal mines in inhabited and environmentally sensitive areas in the state. Focus has to be given for infrastructure development, logistic planning, land requirements, rehabilitation and resettlement, environment impact studies and mitigation measures, the letter said.
Expressing serious concerns over the adverse environmental impact in post operationalisation of such a large number of coal blocks, Mr Patnaik pointed out that coal mining would cause deforestation and air pollution. Sources close to CM’s officer said, the letter also had pointed out that it might not be possible for the state to accommodate new coal mines by jeopardizing its environmental stability. The coal ministry needs to be advised to take a pragmatic and planned approach, keeping the interests and concerns of all stake holders including the state government in mind, the letter said.
For making the 32 coal blocks functional, 325 sq km shall have to be acquired within few years and another equivalent amount of land would be needed for allied activities like coal handling plants, siding, workshop, and residential colonies for project affected people, compensatory afforestation and other infrastructural facilities including roads.
This would lead to massive displacement and consequent socio-economic and environmental crisis, the chief minister is understood to have stated in his missive to the PM. However, such large-scale land acquisition and displacement could be avoided if coal blocks are allotted and developed in a planned and phased manner, Naveen added.
Incidentally, Orissa is already on the throes of severe climate change due to setting up of huge number of coal fired power plants threatening the livelihood of farmers and fishermen who form 70 % of the state’s population shall be severely hit due to irregular monsoons and erratic rainfall patterns.
Most of the power produced shall be transmitted to other states while the people of the state shall be the unwilling victims of the effects on climate change and pollution caused by the huge quantities of green house gases (GHGs) and fly ash generated.
“Coal mining is done either underground or open cast. In Orissa mostly open cast mining is done. When coal surfaces are exposed, pyrite (iron sulfide), comes in contact with water and air forming sulfuric acid. As water drains from the mine, the acid moves into the waterways, and as long as rain falls on the mine tailings the sulfuric acid production continues, whether the mine is still operating or not. Proper and holistic environmental protection measures are not taken by the owners of coal mines”, former director general of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR] and currently, chairman, Institute of Advance Technology and Environmental Studies (IATES), P. K. Jena on Thursday told “The ET”.
This reinforces our thought that the civil society andthe government of Odisha must together push for an ISMU campus in Odisha that will specialize in all the issues mentioned above.
Please add aditional pointers in the comment section. As soon as the Malkangiri sutiation gets resolved we will start a movement to get an ISMU campus to Odisha.
February 21st, 2011
(Thanks to Kalahandia for the pointer.)
Apparently the second campus of RGIPT in Assam was announced by the PM in August 2008. Somehow we missed it. Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday laid the foundations of the National Institute of Design (NID) and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (Assam centre) in Jorhat and Sivasagar districts respectively.
Addressing a gathering in Sivasagar, Singh said, "It is befitting that the institute has been named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, our beloved leader and former Prime Minister of India. His contribution to modernization and development of our country was immense. He believed that the application of science and technology was critical to our development process."
He added that the institute, which will be a world class establishment in the petro-chemical sector, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 148 crore from central funds. "The place will offer degree, diploma and certificate courses to unemployed youths of the state. It will also provide special research on a particular subject," he said.
The Prime Minister added that the institute’s academic year will start from August this year. He said it was a centre of the main institute at Rae Barelly and its main objective was to promote capacity building in competency related to the domain of hydro carbon sector.
Using the same logic Odisha should push for a second campus of the Indian School of Mines University in one of the mining hubs of Odisha.
As far as NID is concerned the previous Commerce minister Kamal Nath had many times mentioned Odisha as a possibility; however because of our mistakes (see here, here and here) we lost it. I hope we learn from our mistakes.
In general there are several institutions we should target for the 12th plan. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/5859 for an initial list. However, if one were to prioritize, a campus of ISMU will have the highest monetary value; as these days ISMU is almost as good as an IIT and has most of the disciplines that an IIT has. ISMU Dhanbad currently has a faculty size of 170. Its budget for 2009-2010 was 128 crores (= 85 plan + 43 non-plan) and for 2010-2011 was 122.47 (=89 plan + 33.47 non-plan) crores. In comparison, the 2010-11 budget for the 7 old IITs were a total of 1600 (= 774 plan+ 826 non-plan ) crores and the 2010-11 budget for the 20 old NITs were a total of 1317.51 (= 810 plan + 507.51 non-plan) crores. So ISM’s budget (122.47 crores) lies between the average NIT budget (65 crores appx) and average IIT budget (228.5 crores).
February 20th, 2011
Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.
The Orissa government has urged the central public sector undertakings (PSUs) operating in the state to help it set up medical colleges in the state.
Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik today reviewed the progress of various proposed medical colleges in the state.
At present, the state has six medical colleges. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Mahanadi Coal Field Limited (MCL) have agreed to set up two medical colleges.
MCL has agreed to set up a medical college at Talcher. NTPC too has agreed in principle to the proposal. It is yet to decide the location of the new college.
The state government has also approached Nalco and SAIL to help develop the state in this regard.
Investment to the tune of Rs 150 crore is needed for a medical college with a capacity to enrol 100 students per annum.
Pursuing SAIL and NALCO for medical colleges is a good step.
January 8th, 2011
Although this may not become part of Vedanta University, such feeder and/or associated colleges in Vedanta Company’s operational areas will hopefully bring more goodwill to Vedanta University. This is a good start. More is needed though. Colleges that can take in mostly local students and produce graduates that can find jobs, such as Nursing and B.Ed Colleges in Kalahandi and Jharsuguda, would be appreciated.
December 4th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ntpc-seeks-land-for-medical-college-in-state/416713/.
"NTPC has sought 15 acres of land for setting up a medical college in the state. It has also evinced interest in setting up a power engineering institute. The company has written to us, requesting for land allotment and we will hold an inter-departmental meeting soon to decide on the site for the medical college and the power engineering institute. The details of the medical college are yet to be finalized but as per the norms of Medical Council of India, they have to start with a 300-bed facility”, an official source told Business Standard.
NTPC which had proposed to set up two super thermal power plants to be set up at Gajamara in Dhenkanal district and Darlipalli in Sundergarh district and also add 1320 Mw to its thermal power station at Talcher, was keen to sign a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the state owned Grid Corporation of Orissa (Gridco).
The PPA was to be signed between NTPC and Gridco for a period of 25 years. NTPC is setting up a 3200 Mw power plant at Gajamara and 4800 Mw power plant at Darlipalli.
One of the conditions set by the state government for signing of the PPA was the setting up of a medical college and a power engineering institute. The second condition was allocation of 50 per cent power for the state from the two proposed super thermal power stations."NTPC has claimed that it has got the approval of the Centre for allocation of 50 per cent of power for the host state. … ”, the source added.
The proposed super thermal power projects of NTPC at Gajamara and Darlipalli were scheduled to be operational by 2016-17. The Gajamara project needed 2900 acres of land and NTPC claimed to have conducted the gram sabha for this project in March this year.
After MCL, this is the next public sector company to have agreed to set up a medical college in Odisha. (This is not considering ESI corporation and Indian Railways’s plans.) Next NALCO and SAIL must be pressured for medical colleges in Koraput and Rourkela respectively.
November 30th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from an IANS report with the locations added by me.
The Orissa government Friday signed agreements with six more companies for setting up industrial training centres in the state, an official said.
… The companies which signed the agreements through their representatives were GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited (Dhenkanal), IMFA Limited, Deepak Steel and Power Limited (Barbil), Bhusan Energy Limited (Dhenkanal), BRG Iron and Steel Co Private ltd (Dhenkanal) and Lanco Babandh Power ltd (Dhenkanal).
These companies will establish at least one industrial training centre at identified locations, the official said.
There is an annual requirement of 140,000 to 180,000 trained personnel in highly-skilled, semi-skilled and non-executive workforce in metal and manufacturing sector in the state alone. The government has signed the agreements as part of its steps to bridge the gap between demand and supply, the official said.
As per the agreement, the state government will identify and transfer required land on payment and the company will develop required infrastructure within one year of taking the land.
The government had earlier this year signed similar pacts with different private companies for setting up 20 industrial training centres at different identified locations,…
With the latest agreements, the number of proposed industrial training centres in the state for which pacts were signed reached 26, he said.
In another recent news NALCO’s ITI in Damanjodi was inaugurated by the CM recently. Following is an excerpt from a report in indiaeducationdiary.
The Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik, laid the Foundation-stone for Industrial Training Institute (ITI) today in Damanjodi …
With an objective to provide training facility to the local students of periphery villages of M&R Complex, Damanjodi, the ITI is being set up through Public-Private Participation (PPP) mode. Initially, an amount of Rs. 1 crore 16 lakhs has been set aside by NALCO from its periphery development fund for the purpose. Setting up of the ITI also aims at enhancing the skill-sets of local youths and helps them to enhance their employability in future, in view of the rapid industrialization in the State.
Students from tribal & weaker sections from the periphery villages will be given priority in admissions, apart from other students of the area in the upcoming ITI. Recurring expenditure to run the institute will be met out of the periphery development fund of NALCO. The land for setting up the institute & other facilities will be provided by District Administration.
September 24th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in sify.com.
To bridge the gap between the available skilled manpower and demand from the upcoming industries, the Orissa government today signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with eight mega industries for setting up quality Industrial Training Centres (ITCs) in the state.
… The companies which inked the agreement with the government are Orissa Power Generation Corporation (Hemagiri), Tata Power Ltd (Banki), Emami Paper Mills (Balgopalpur), RSB Metaltech (P) Ltd (Kalyansinghpur), Surrendra Mining Industries Ltd (Bonei), Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd (Teleibani), Uttam Utkal Steels (Jhumpura), Ind-Barath Energy (Utkal) Ltd (Lakhanpur).
Though twenty seven industries and public sector undertakings had evinced interest to set up ITCs in the state, eight have signed the MoU in the first phase.
The remaining industries are expected to sign MoUs with the state government in phases.
As per the MoU, the government would identify and transfer the land required for setting up the ITCs. The sponsoring companies would have to develop the required infrastructure in those centres as per the norms of National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT). However, the mega industries would have to pay for the land whether it is government or private land.
… the admission to the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and degree engineering colleges has increased from 30,000 to 1.2 lakh per annum in the last decade.
May 25th, 2010
Update: Following is from Samaja.
Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.
Finally it seems Tarun Kanti Mishra has come to the rescue of thousands of citizens’ genuine demand for a Medical College at Rourkela.
Chief Secretary has taken up the issue with the Secretary of the Ministry of Steel.
Citizens were demanding for the ESIC Medical College in the Steel City for more than two years.
However ESIC decided to set up the Medical College here as the State Government offered land on the outskirts of the Capital City.
… While Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has proposed to up grade Bokaro Steel Plants’ hospital to a Medical College, similar move is needed feel, Mr.Mishra.
So the Chief Secretary discussed the matter with Union Secretary Steel to set up a Medical College at Rourkela under the aegis of Ispat General Hospital (IGH).
IGH is an excellent hospital and has lot of facilities along with top medical personnel.
Now the State Government will take up the issue with Chief Minister batting for the same, said sources.
Chief Minister is likely to discuss the issue with Union Minister Steel in this regard, said sources.
For long we have been urging the Odisha government to take up with SAIL for a medical college. Finally the Odisha government came to senses. I guess better late than never. In particular we pointed out that since SAIL is making a medical college in Bokaro, it should be pursued for one in Rourkela. Following are some pointers regarding the medical college SAIL is making in Bokaro.
(i) News articles that mention this: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070226/asp/jamshedpur/story_7441681.asp
(ii) The web page of the Bokaro Ispat Educational trust which talks about this: http://www.bietrust.com/
(iii) The site http://www.hsccltd.com/secured%20projects.htm which mentions that its is doing a pre-feasibility study for SAIl medical college in Bokaro.
| 21. |
June-08 |
Prefeasibility Report for establishing Medical College at SAIL, Bokaro |
Also, some time back there was news that SAIL Rourkela was looking for renewing its mining lease. If it is still hanging, then it makes it a perfect time to broach this topic with SAIL management and the Steel Ministry in Delhi. (http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=8891 )
Some of our earlier articles mentioning this point are at:
May 17th, 2010
Following are excerpts from a report in http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=4070.
… The institution has been named as “Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research, MCL”.
This will be a 500-bed Medical College and Hospital at Talcher in Angul district.
Earlier the Board of Directors of MCL has already approved for setting up of a Medical College at Talcher by the coal company.
The institution will be managed by a trust.
Accordingly a trust has been formed and registered in the name of “Mahanadi Medical Education Trust” under Registration of Society Act-1860.
The CMD,MCL will be the Chairman of the Trust.
… The Odisha Government recently gave its no-objection certificate (NOC), said a senior official in the Department of Health & Family Welfare.
The Medical College would be set up on a 60 acre patch of land along the same lines as Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow.
… Pending laying of Foundation Stone, all other activities required for the opening of the Medical College at Talcher are being taken.
In this regard a meeting of the Trust will be held very shortly to discuss the further course of action to be taken, said the release.
MCL will also upgrade its Nehru Shatabdi hospital to a super specialty hospital, said sources.
May 12th, 2010
(Thanks to http://www.rourkelacity.com/rdf/showthread.php?p=41#post41 for the pointer.) Following is an excerpt from a report in Ranchi Express.
State Health Minister Baithnath Ram on Monday informed the Assembly that approval letters have been sent to HEC, Ranchi and SAIL, Bokaro to start medical colleges at Ranchi and Bokaro respectively. About 250 students will be admitted in each medical college, Minister said.
Note that HEC Ranchi is a Government of India enterprise.
We have said this earlier but is worth repeating. Odisha must push the central public sectors that have large operations in Odisha, especially the ones that either use Odisha minerals, pollute Odisha or both to establish medical colleges in Odisha. So far they have pursued this strategy with MCL which has promised a medical college in Talcher.
Odisha government should immediately pursue with the other such public sectors.
- SAIL Rourkela should be pushed for a medical college in Rourkela.
- NALCO should be pushed for a medical college in one of the places it operates in Odisha.
- NTPC should be pushed for a medical college.
They should also do that with respect to some of the private sectors that have been using Odisha minerals. This includes:
- Tatas in the Kalinganagar area.
- Birlas in the Barbil area.
Some of our earlier articles on this topic:
March 17th, 2010
Continuing on our previous article at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3103 following is a table of the mega projects that are stuck. The delay costs the companies 100s of crores per year. If the various companies sincerely contribute to the human resource development of the state something similar to what is suggested by Kalahandi MP Bhakta Das (Expressbuzz Oct 17) in the context of Vedanta and the activists/opposers in the various places take a sensible approach then that will be a win-win situation for every body.
(However, one has to be careful in what they demand and how they demand. For example, laws should not be broken when demanding. Also, what is demanded should pass the common-sense test as making outrageous demands does not help. Nor does it help when it is not clear who the company is dealing with. The demands should be in tune with the size of the mineral resources to be used by the company and the environmental impact of the company.)
| Company |
Location |
Land Required (acres) |
Investment (in crores)
|
Current major Contributions by the company CSR arm or by its promoters in their individual capacity
|
Other contributions of the group; HRD contributions they should do |
| Vedanta |
Lanjigarh, Kalahandi |
2279 |
8400 |
Planned 15,000 crores Vedanta University in Puri with a personal donation of 5000 crores by Mr. Anil Agarwal;
DAV international school in Lanjigarh and supporting students in DAV Puri.
Burn and Trauma care center in Bhubaneswar has been announced.
|
MP Bhakta Das asks: 5 KVs, 5 tech colleges like Medical college, Engg College, Polytech, and ITI. |
| Vedanta |
Jharsuguda |
3350 |
(included above) |
100 bed hospital at Jharsuguda has been announced.
Supporting students in DAV Jharsuguda.
|
|
| Vedanta (Sterlite Iron & Steel) |
Keonjhar |
3400 |
12,500 |
Ditto |
|
| Tata Steel |
Kalinganagar |
3500 |
18,700 |
NTTF Gopalpur; NTTF Kalinganagar, Cost of Building of Inst of Math and applications (14 crores) , and small peanuts here and there.
Contributed 1 Crore to new XIM academic block.
200 bed hospital in Kalinganagar at the cost of 30 crores has just been announced.
|
50-50 partner with L & T in Dhamara port;
Planning an SEZ in Gopalpur.
|
| POSCO |
Paradip |
6000 |
51,000 |
not much |
|
| Arcelor Mittal |
Keonjhar |
8000 |
40,000 |
not much |
|
| Jindal Thermal |
Angul |
1100 |
5940 |
not much |
|
| Jindal Steel & Power |
Kalinganagar |
5750 |
13135 |
|
|
| Bhusan Power & Steel |
Kalinganagar |
1800 |
3500 |
|
|
| Uttam Galva Steel |
Keonjhar |
2150 |
8987 |
|
|
| Welspun Power & Steel |
Bhadrakh |
2200 |
6103.8 |
|
|
| Aditya Aluminum |
Rayagada |
5209 |
14,000 |
|
|
| Aditya Aluminum |
Sambalpur |
(included above) |
(included above) |
|
|
| Essar Steel |
Paradip |
2500 |
10721 |
|
|
| Essel Energy |
|
1600 |
7667 |
|
|
Public Sector companies that use Orissa’s mines and/or pollute Orissa otherwise:
| Companies |
Locations |
Latest profit figures |
Current major contributions |
HRD contributions they should do |
| NALCO |
Angul, Damanjodi (Koraput) |
|
|
|
| NTPC |
Talcher |
|
|
|
| SAIL |
Rourkela |
|
|
|
| MCL |
Sambalpur, Talcher |
|
Promised a medical college in Talcher |
|
Big Miners from Orissa:
| Companies |
Locations |
Mines details |
Latest Profit figures |
Current major contributions |
HRD contributions they should do |
| Essel Mining (Aditya Birla group) |
Joda – Barbil |
Iron ore; Will last another 24 years. |
892 crores in 2007-08 |
Not much |
|
| Tata Steel |
Iron ore – Joda
Chromite – Sukinda
Mnaganese and Dolomite
|
|
|
See the first table in this article.
See also this letter; and list.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
October 18th, 2009
Following is from Dharitri:
Today Pioneer reports on MP Bhakta Das’s demand to Vedanta with respect to Lanjigarh. Following is an excerpt from that report.
Das said the package should include direct employment of 5,000 locals in technical fields and indirect employment of 10,000 locals in non-technical fields, establishment of five technical colleges like medical, engineering, polytechnic and ITI and five central schools in the district.
Asked whether he would consider supporting extraction of bauxite in the Niyamgiri hill if VAL declares such a package, Das replied that a decision in this regard would be taken with consent of all citizens at a meeting where the industry would sign an agreement before the public.
Development of healthcare, roads, education and irrigation, connection of electricity to all villages, social activities, plantation, peripheral development and permanent income source for displaced people and tribals with lifetime free education to their children are also part of the package, he said. The industry would ensure that the flow of waters of rivers and streams in the Niyamgiri hill would not be affected. Consent of the tribals would have to be taken before handing over the hill, he said.
This is a constructive approach. I hope Vedanta agrees to it. (Although Vedanta’s Chairman is establishing a Rs 15,000 crore Vedanta University near Puri, with Rs 5000 crore of his own money, Vedanta should also pay attention to the localities where its industries are coming up and where its mining operations are located; in particular Lanjigarh and Jharsuguda; as those areas will bear the burnt of the pollution and environmental side effects and also many people there will be losing their lands.)
Following the above table the companies behind the other mega-projects should do the same. We list them here.
- Arcelor Mittal @ Keonjhar:
- POSCO @ Paradeep
- Jindal thermal @ Angul; Jindal Steel and Power @Kalinganagar
- Tata Steel, Kalinganagar
- Vedanta @ Jharsuguda and @ Lanjigarh; Sterlite Iron & Steel @Keonjhar
- Bhusan @ Kalinganagar
- Uttam Galva @Bistapal, Keonjhar
- Wellspun @Bhadrakh
- Aditya Aluminum @Rayagada @Sambalpur
- Essar Steel @Paradeep
- Essel Energy
To be continued …
September 19th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a report in Indopia.
Domestic steel producer Jindal Steel and Power has invested about Rs 300 crore to set a law school as part of its O P Jindal Global University project and will also approach corporate houses like Tatas and Ambanis to pump in more funds in the form of endowments.
The college, envisioned by JSPL Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Navin Jindal, has been at the university campus in Sonepat, Haryana. The first session of the college, is expected to start in September this year.
" Jindal Global Law School will be the first phase of our endevour to promote excellence in higher education by setting up O P Jindal Global University. We have infused up to Rs 300 crore at the moment and expect more investment in form of endowments and donations," O P Jindal Global University Professor and CEO C Raj Kumar told media.
…The law college would function in collaboration with the top institutes worldwide like Harvard Law School among others and would offer a three-year post-graduate LLB programme. The institute is also planning to commence a five-year undergraduate programme in law.
Kumar said school would have competitive fee structure of Rs six lakh per annum and would offer scholarship and easy loan schemes to them.
The Orissa government should push JSPL for setting up similar higher education institutions in Orissa where they have existing operations (such as an iron ore mine in Tensa, Keonjhar) and where they are expanding some operations. In particular:
January 9th, 2009
Earlier we mentioned Bokaro Steel plant agreeing to set up an engineering college and a medical college in Jharkhand. Following is an update on that from a report in Telegraph.
Bokaro Ispat Institute of Medicine at Bokaro General Hospital, which was supposed to start its academic session this year, is still awaiting a nod from the Medical Council of India (MCI).
The college also needs an approval of the board of directors of the Steel authority of India Limited (SAIL) for availing infrastructure of the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL).
… Health minister Bhanu Pratap Shahi had in 2006 promised that he would clear the project within 24 hours if he received any proposal from BSL for setting up a medical college. He had also assured that the college would become functional by 2008. However, the pace of paperwork for setting up the college has raised doubts on whether the academic session would begin even in 2009.
Sources said that MCI had completed its survey of the general hospital, which would be used for training students. It has surveyed other infrastructure that BSL is willing to extend. However, the council has not given its nod yet. …
After getting the approval of the Jharkhand government in November 2007, the managing director of BSL, V.K. Srivastav, had told The Telegraph that he was anxiously waiting for the MCI team’s survey of the hospital, one of the best in eastern India.
To speed up work, the BSL also constituted the Bokaro Educational Trust headed by its executive director Jivesh Mishra. …
September 2nd, 2008
