Also, I have not seen any Orissa govt. claim or Vedanta statement regarding any plans to get SEZ status for the university. In any case, education institutions probably already have tax-free status on certain aspects.
Following up on our earlier rejoinder of an article that said $1-$3 billion is not enough for making a research university in India, following are some excerpts from an Indian Express article which talks about how much $1 billion buys in terms of Indian HRD.
How much is this Rs 4443.60 crore in the context of current spending on education? Consider these:
44 times the annual allocation for an IIT at the rate of Rs 100 crore average.
68% of the total allocation in 2007-08 for higher and technical education, which is Rs 6,483 crore, inclusive of allocation for expansion to accommodate OBC quotas
• Almost twice this year’s allocation for the entire UGC (Rs 2124.77 crore) which includes all Central universities and its quota expansion
137% of the current year allocation for technical education: Rs.3240 crore of which Rs.2122 crore is IITs, NITs, IIMs expansion.
50% of the entire Tenth Plan allocation for higher and technical education, Rs 8876 crore
While it is possible that Vedanta University, may not turn out as envisioned, it is definitely not a flawed pipe dream. We now show why some of the
arguments given in the above article is flawed.
1. This article talks about $1 billion (the number $3 billion is thrown as an afterthought towards the end of the article) and how it is not a lot money. First, Vedanta University folks have talked about $3 billion, not $1 billion. The $1 billion number is the number that Mr. Agrawal has pledged to contribute; not the number he thinks the university needs. He thinks the later number to be $3 billion. If one wonders where the rest of the $2 billion is supposed to come, then there are two likely sources: (i) the tuition paid by the students and (ii) the use of the real estate in the planned city around the Vedanta University.
Next, lets look at the budget of some of the existing Indian institutions:
UGC had a budget of 2700.17 crores in 2006-07 and 3763.52 crores in 2007-08. This include funding about 20 central universities (does not include IGNOU)
What Vedanta University folks have said is that they will spend $1 billion in the initial phase (i.e. Rs 4000 crores) and $3 billion (Rs 12,000 crores) over the next 10-15 years.
Based on the estimates about Rs 4000 crores can be used to build two new IITs (1000 crore*2) + two new IISERs (500 crores*2) + two new central universities (300 crores*2) + two new IIMs (150 crores estimate) + a new National Institute of Design (100 crores estimate). The recurring cost of these would be at 2006-07 estimates would be 2 IITs (200 crores total), two IISERs (200 crores total), two central universities (200 crores), two IIMs (30 crores), an NID (12 crores) = 650 crores. That is about 650/(8000) = 8.125% of the remaining $2 billion of the Vedanta University estimate which is a fairly small percentage of interest. (The Indian market has been making much more in recent years.)
2. The article says: "No research university in the world has 100,000 students or even anything close."
As per http://www.asu.edu/enroll/news/news2.html ASU will have 90,000 students in its campuses by 2020. (Note that all its campuses are in the Phoenix metro area. It is not like the multi-campus UC system or U of Texas system.)
So Vedanta’s goal of 100,000 students around the same time is not that different.
3. Location: It seems the author does not have much idea about the location. The Vedanta University location is about 30 miles from the outer periphery (read Khurda) of Bhubaneswar metropolitan area (the capital of Orissa) . Bhubaneswar is very well connected with the rest of the country both by train ( BBSR , Khurda Rd Schedules, Puri Schedules) and by plane and it is expected to have international flights within a year or two . The Bhubaneswar metropolitan area has a current population of 1.6 million and at the rate it is growing (both in area and population) it is likely that by 2020 it will be more than 3 million and its periphery would be close to (if not completely engulfing) Vedanta University.
4. India is hungry for good higher education and people are willing to pay for it. May be the example of KIIT, Bhubaneswar (Orissa) will open the eyes of the author. KIIT was started in 1992 by three young people with an initial investment of few thousand rupees. In 15 years it has programs in multiple fields (engineering, management, medical science, Rural management, biotechnology, Social Sciences, Dentistry, Diploma, ITI, international high schoo l) and is a deemed university. The growth and revenue of ICFAI and Amity also illustrates the revenue potential. Although none of the above are research universities, Vedanta University can collect similar revenues and spend a big part of it in research.
So it is not unreasonable that Vedanta University will have enough students paying enough in tuition to sustain it. Moreover, one should not take the real estate aspect of Vedanta University lightly. With 6000 acres, there will be enough land left beyond the core university, to earn a handsome income, which can then be ploughed into Vedanta University’s research programs. Currently, Bhubaneswar is a destination for many IT companies for their development centers. It has the big 4 of India (Wipro, Infosys, TCS and Satyam), IBM and many small and medium sized IT companies. With a top-notch environment the research park around Vedanta university should be able to attract research divisions of international companies.
Bhubaneswar metropolitan area has 26 engineering colleges (at least 5 more will start operating in the coming year) , 7 existing universities, several more in the making, etc. etc. Please see the right column of https://www.orissalinks.com/to get an idea of the existing and expected educational infrastructure of greater Bhubaneswar.
The reduction of the Vedanta Univ land requirement comes from eliminating the airstrip that was part of the original plan. This is mentioned in Pragativadi’s report on the topic. Following are some excerpts.
The group has also decided to withdraw its proposed airstrip inside the proposed varsity premises.
…
But as the state government faced problems in the land acquisition, the Group has decided to withdraw its proposed airstrip within the proposed varsity premises while agreeing for 6270 acres of land of which 5,500 acre are private lands and the rest 770 acres are government lands.
This is a good compromise on the part of Vedanta. In 10-15 years the Bhubaneswar area will need a bigger airport and at that time it could be made closer to Puri and thus serve Vedanta University adequately.
However, both the Orissa government and the Vedanta University people must take steps to have international flights from/to Bhubaneswar. Without that there will be a problem for Vedanta University to recruit top researchers and research companies.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 3:30 PM–4:30 PM
Keywords: New Campus/School
(CC-69) Creating a World University in India
Presenters: Adam A. Gross, Principal, Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects & Planners; Roshni Thomas
Vedanta University is an ambitious project to establish India’s first world-class, comprehensive, research-driven university. Supported by an endowment gift of $1 billion from industrialist and philanthropist Anil Agarwal, Vedanta will be starting construction in 2007. This session will cover the steps to create the academic model and physical plan for this new world university.
… At Friday’s meeting, it was decided that the land requirements for the university would be reduced. It has been decided that 6,270 acres of land would be given to the Vedanta group to set up its university instead of its earlier demand of 8,000 acres of land. The Vedanta group has agreed to the Government’s suggestion. Out if it, 5,500 acre of land is private land and the rest 770 acres are Government lands. Only 150 families would be displaced for the project. The land would be acquired from 18 villages.
The Vedanta group has also agreed to abide by the R& R policy of the State Government. Meanwhile, it has deposited Rs 27 crore before the Puri district administration for the land acquisition process.
It has been decided that Government would provide 1,500 acres of land to the Vedanta group in the first phase. So far, the State Government has provided 300 acres of land. The company officials said after they got a minimum of 1,500 acres of land, they would soon initiate the project.
In the first phase, the Government would start constructing four lanes to connect the University from both Puri and Konark sides.
As regards the 100-hospital 1000 bed hospital project the Vedanta group said the project would be started after September 15.
As per the plan, the Vedanta group would set up its international standard university by 2020 and it would invest Rs 15,000 crore for the purpose.
The construction work of multi-billion dollar Vedanta University at Puri in Orissa will start in September.
The university, modelled on internationally famed campuses like Oxford and Stanford, is being set up under the aegis of the Anil Agrawal Foundation. The project, in its full scale, is estimated at about Rs 15,000 crore.
The first phase work of the project, comprising the construction of a medical college and super speciality hospital, will start in September, said A K Samal, vice-president (Commercial and projects), Vedanta Resources, here.
Talking to reporters after a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he said the project was progressing in accordance with the plan. …
The acquisition of private land for the project has started and the company is hopeful of taking possession of 1,500 acres before September, when the first phase of construction is scheduled to start.
Ruling out any problem in land acquisition, Samal said there was no problem of displacement. Only 150 families are likely to be displaced and they will be resettled in accordance with the policy of the state government. The company has already deposited Rs.27crore for the first phase of land acquisition.
Vedanta university, which will provide teaching and research facilities in engineering, humanities, pure science, medicine and other frontier subjects, will come up in phases.
The full project is expected to complete by 2020. However, the first batch of admission is slated to start from the academic session 2009-10, Samal said.
Regarding the designs of the proposed university, he said, the entire architecture for the university and the hospital is being prepared by California based Roshni Thomas. ‘The building will be modern and the designs will be based on Indian traditions’, Thomas, who was present in the review meeting, said.
Orissa chief secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said the progress of the project is satisfactory. He said like other universities of the state, the government will enact a separate legislations on Vedanta University and Ravishankar University.
Besides, the government is considering to enact an umbrella legislation for such universities which may come in future. He made it explicit that there will not be any environmental and rehabilitation problem for the project.
The Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF), promoted by Vedant Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal, will commence the work of its 1000 bedded most modern hospital in Orissa during this September.The project, which also envisaged a Medical College, was a part of its first phase of Rs 15,000 crore world class multi-disciplinary Vedant University in the state. …
He later agreed to a proposal of chief minister Naveen Patnaik to set up a modern hospital and focus on research and treatment on cancer, heart ailments and diabetis.
… Official sources said the state government has handed over 300 acres of land to the AAF to start the construction work of the Hospital and Medical College.
… Around half of India’s dozen richest businessmen are self-made men. But none more so than Mr Agarwal, now 53, whose personal fortune is estimated at $5.4 billion. …
He is Indian, and proud to be—hence, he says, his philanthropic scheme to donate $1 billion to found a world-class university in India. Vedanta University will be constructed on a 3,200-hectare site in Orissa and will cater for 100,000 students when it is completed, around 2025. “When you go to the US, you see their large universities, Harvard and Berkeley, and we don’t have them,” says Mr Agarwal. “Yet the biggest thing you can give to people is education.” Sceptics say he has chosen Orissa as the site for the university for political reasons. It is certainly an extraordinarily ambitious scheme. But there is no doubting Mr Agarwal’s ability to overcome obstacles and establish giant enterprises with surprising speed.
Chronicles of Higher Education has two premium articles ( one needs a subscription to read the full article) and a slide show. Following are links to those articles and excerpts from them.
In an office a few feet from the chop of the Baltimore harbor, architects are drawing plans for a vast university campus on the east coast of India that would be shaped like twin blossoms, bordered by a lake, and entered through any of 34 gates, each with its own name and symbolism. As beautiful as a mandala and as intricate as a postgraduate mathematics problem, it’s almost certainly the most ambitious campus plan ever conceived.
On more than 7,500 acres, Vedanta University and its environs would accommodate a liberal-arts program, an engineering school, an agriculture college, a medical campus, Olympics-grade sports facilities, townships for faculty and staff members, parklands, a resort, and even its own airport. At the behest of Anil Agarwal, an industrialist who has pledged $1-billion toward its construction, the campus is being designed to house 100,000 students and to fulfill the donor’s dream of creating an institution that is Indian and world-class at the same time. … MORE
A mining mogul with big ideas is determined to build an elite, American-style university for 100,000 students in Orissa. Farmers, who own the land he wants to develop, plan to resist.
By SHAILAJA NEELAKANTAN
Bhubaneshwar, India
A few miles outside the town of Puri, in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, lies Beladala, a farming village of thatch-roofed homes. One recent afternoon a group of farmers sat on the porch of the village’s small school eating a lunch of rice, lentils, and vegetables on plates made of broad leaves. … MORE
Pioneers reports on a reply in the Orissa state assembly regarding groups interested in setting up of private universities that have contacted the state government. Following are some excerpts.
The State Government on Thursday said the Government has already received proposals to set up six private universities in the State. These universities included the Vedanta University, Ravishankar University, ICFAI University, Barrister Ranjit Mohanty Law University, Amity University and SBM University.
… Higher Education Minister Samir Dey said Government is planning to introduce a bill to regulate the activities of the private universities.
He further said that all the private universities have to arrange the land for setting up their own campus. But in few cases, the State Government will provide lands to the private universities. He further said that 398.811 acres of land has been provided to Utkal University. Similarly, 250 acre of land to Berhampur University, 573.11 acre to Sambalpur University, 80.73 acre to FM University, 98.02 acre to North Orissa University, 1,674 acre to Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology and 100 acres of land have been provided to Jagannath Sanskrit University.
Ayers Saint Gross, a Baltimore USA firm, is in charge of Vedanta University’s campus master plan. The client list of Ayers Saint Gross is extremely impressive and as per their web site today includes Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University, Franklin and Marshall College, Guangzhou China University City, George Washington University, University of Georgia, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, Rutgers University, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin, Madison and Vedanta University.
Based on their list of current projects they are involved in the Building design and architecture of academic buildings of Vedanta University as well as its campus planning. Following is a blurb from their site.
Vedanta University
Campus Master Plan
Orissa, India
Ayers/Saint/Gross has been selected as the Lead Campus Master Planner and Architect for Vedanta University, envisioned to be a world-class, multi-discipline university in India. This project will entail the design and development of a state-of-the art education and research institute that will rank among the highest caliber schools internationally – at the level of Harvard, Stanford and Oxford.
This new University will be built around several colleges and ‘Centers of Excellence’ for cross-disciplinary research. The colleges will include Graduate, Post-Graduate, and Doctoral programs in various disciplines. It is aimed to have a globally diversified, high-quality student body, comprising an equal mix of Indian and international students – serving over 100,000 students in the long-term. The campus will house state-of-the-art facilities including a global resource library, research and development parks, student and faculty residences, and an Olympic caliber sports complex. The vision also includes the development of a University township that will evolve with the University and drive local development in the region as an education and research satellite city.
Time Magazine in its recent issue lists Anil Agarwal at number in its list of 12 Powergivers. The others in the list are Angelina Jolie, Rania al-Abdullah, Yu Panglin, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud, Sir John Templeton, Li Ka-shing, Pierre & Pam Omidyar, David Rockefeller, Gordon Moore, George Soros, and Bill & Melinda Gates.
Following is an excerpt of what Time says about Mr. Agarwal and Vedanta University.
Cause: University education in India. The London-based mining magnate has pledged $1 billion to establish a world-class, need-blind university in Orissa, eastern India. To be called Vedanta (the name of his mining group), the school will focus on liberal arts, in contrast to India’s many technically oriented schools.
Impact: Vedanta will help address the region’s dearth of university spots, which keeps qualified students from going to high-quality colleges.
It says Vedant University will focus on liberal arts and not like the technical schools in India. What it means probably is that it will not be unidimensional like the IITs were (they are changing), the IIMs are, etc. It does not mean that it will not have disciplines like science, engineering, management etc. In fact Vedanta University’s website lists all these disciplines and my guess is that in their first phase they will have disciplines like Engineering, Management and Medicine (as they recently promised) which are in demand and which will attract paying students.
