Odisha HRD

Proposed XIMB campuses in Balangir and Sambalpur to have 120 seats each

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

Minister said to provide qualitative education on Management, XIMB has been roped in to set up its campus at Balangir to start a Post Graduate Program in General Management with specialization in Banking and Finance Service.

Intake will be 60 students in this discipline and equal number of students in Rural Management Program, for which XIMB will be given Rs.10 crore grant.

Similarly XIMB will open another branch at Sambalpur for General Management with specialization in Human Resource Development Program with intake capacity of 120 students, said the Minister.

54 comments July 18th, 2010

Programs offered at the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development Orissa in Bhubaneswar

Their web page is http://www.iedorissa.co.in/. Following information on the courses they offer is from the page http://www.iedorissa.co.in/course.html.

MBA Degree in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development.

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Export Import Management

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Insurance Management

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Tax and Financial Accounting

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Multimedia Design

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Fashion Design

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Jewellery Design.

vDiploma in Packaging.

Recently they have advertised a BBA course. Following is the advertisement from Samaja.

Add comment July 14th, 2010

XIMB to get government support of 20 crores for its campuses in Balangir and Sambalpur

Update: Following are excerpts from a report in Telegraph.

“It (the additional centre) will either be in Sambalpur or Bolangir. We might even open centres in both cities. This will depend on where the state government provides land. Once that is over, we will sign a memorandum of understanding with the state government,” said XIMB director Father P.T. Joseph.

… “We are just waiting for Naveen Patnaik’s approval. We can start work on the new centre as soon as we receive his approval,” he said.

… “The management college will come as succour to students aspiring for quality higher education in the neglected areas of western Orissa. Centres of XIMB will come up at both Bolangir and Sambalpur. We are in the process of finalising the land plots. The state government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the project,” said Singh Deo.

Update: Following is from Samaja.

Following is from tathya.in.

… XIMB will open two Centers in Balangir and Sambalpur in Western Odisha to provide Higher Education in Management.

… Both for Balangir and Sambalpur Centers of XIMB, the State Government will provide Rs.20 crore grant from the kitty of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC), said sources. 

The proposal was sent to the Chief Minister by Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, Minister Planning & Coordination and Public Enterprises.

… Chief Minister Mr.Patnaik, who is eager for balanced growth of the entire state, favored the idea and has approved the proposal, said a senior mandarin in the Department of Planning & Coordination. 

Chief Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra has also favored the idea of supporting XIMB as the top notch B-School is opening its branches at Balangir and Sambalpur.

This is really a good development.  There are several other developments which together provide several lessons.

• Silicon started in Bhubaneswar and last year it opened a branch in Sambalpur. Its branch in Sambalpur was funded by a Silicon Valley group which is now planning to pump 150-300 crores to develop Silicon University which will benefit both its Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur operations.
• GIET Gunupur is the first of the Gandhi institutions and the group now has many  colleges including ones in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Rayagada.
• IIT Bhubaneswar will have an additional marine campus in a location away from Bhbaneswar.
• Hi-Tech sarted its first medical college in Bhubaneswar. It is now making a medical college in Rourkela.

There are two lessons one can draw from this.

1. Private institutions of education are playing and will continue to play important role in the state and people wanting to develop their area should themselves get involved in establishing institutions. This is in addition to pursuing the government which every citizen has the right to pursue.
2. Development in the state will spread from one area to other. The key is to let development happen without delay. The more it is delayed in one location, it will result in more delay in the rest of the places. For example, a successful Vedanta University in a location would lead to additional branches in other locations. The key is to let the first campus be operational at the earliest.

16 comments July 7th, 2010

New Odisha Institutions that have been recommended by AICTE; Approved number of seats in various colleges (old and new

Following is obtained from sheet1 http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/impann/371_New_Recommanded.htm.

• Bhubaneswar Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Engineering College
• Capital Institute of Management & Science, Bhubaneswar, Management
• Capital Engineering College, Bhubaneswar, Engineering College
• DRIEMS BUSINESS SCHOOL, Cuttack, Management
• INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar, Engineering College
• Radhakrishna Institute of Engineering and Technology (RITE), Bhubaneswar, Engineering College
• RAYAGADA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, Rayagada, Engineering
• Saraswat Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Management

In Sheet 2 of that link there are a few additional institutes. Its implication is not clear.

• KRUTTIKA INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL, Bhubaneswar, Engineering College
• BHADRAK ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar, Engineering College

The following two links have information on institutions that are recommended but need to submit additional information before getting an LOA.

• http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/impann/incomplete_data_185.htm
• http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/impann/incomplete_data_371.htm

The following link has information on the number of seats approved by AICTE for various colleges in Orissa.

• http://www.aicte-india.org/excel/29jun/ORISSA.html.

1 comment July 4th, 2010

CM favors Xavier University: Tathya.in scrolling headline

Also heard it from other high ranking sources that the CM has approved Xavier University. So this should come up in the next cabinet meeting and hopefully in the next assembly session or possibly even in the next half of the current assembly session.

Genesis (from sources): The idea for making Xavier University was first mooted in June 2009. It has taken a year for it to get the CM’s official nod. I was told that the time in between was spent in convincing various officials and ministers in the government, drafting the bill and getting the proposal approved by the XIMB board.

Add comment June 28th, 2010

XIMB starts short programs in Delhi; Dubai may be next

Following is from a report in webnewswire.

Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar(XIMB) announces Financial Planning and Wealth Management Program in New Delhi, for graduates, working professionals and enterpreneurs providing services to financial sector and for those who hold keen interest in the same sphere. This program will expose the participants to various theories and practices of Financial and Wealth Management enabling them to equip with the techniques with which they can handle their current business tasks in better and effective manner.

Since, the prime objective of the program is quality education that would help in better career prospects in corporate sector, the core faculty of XIMB would hold the sessions at Lodhi Road imparting both practical and theoratical insights of the financial world. The lectures would be a judicious blend of physical classroom sessions, instructor lead training, quizzes, case studies and project works. Participants would be benefited both academically and professionally as this program would have a high market value and branding among the corporates.

During the total tenure of 6 months integrated approach to learn various aspects of Finance, Financial Services Insurance(Life, Non-Life), Risk Management, Pension Planning, Estate and Tax Planning would give participants holistic perspective of Financial Planning so that they can shoulder greater responsibilities in their future career. Details of the program is available on www.indialearn.com or www.alethia.in.

Eligibility of the program is minimum 50% in graduation. Participants can attend the lectures without compromising their working schedule. The admission process would include application form+written test followed by personal interview. Participants will be awarded with a certificate from XIMB after the completion of the program.

Total fee is of Rs.50,000+ service tax. The documents required for the admission are certified copy of official academic records, copy of work experience (with attached visiting card) and four passport size colour photographs.

Admission forms are available from Ms Darshana Vyas at darshana@creativecrest.com and these can be obtained free of cost.For further information call 011-46076571 or 9268730013.

I was told XIMB is also exploring offering short courses in Dubai. These initiatives should help further increase the brand value of XIMB. In addition extra money from these initiatives could be deployed in the proposed Xavier University and new XIMB campuses in Khurda and Balangir. Odisha government should fast track the Xavier University Bill and any issue (such as land allotment) associated with the new XIMB campuses.

Add comment June 25th, 2010

So far AICTE has approved only one new institution in Odisha

The list made on 14th June is available at http://www.aicte-india.org/listofnewinst.html. The eastern region seems to have fared very badly. Only two new institutions have been recommended  out of which one is in Odisha. That institute is:

Mahendra Institute of Management and Technical Studies, Khurda. To offer PGDM.

For the institutions that were not approved appeals were scheduled on 18th June. See http://www.aicte-india.org/appealsch.html and http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/appealschedule/Appeal%20Eastern.pdf#toolbar=0&zoom=85. That list has many proposed institutions from Odisha. It remains to be seen if some of them succeed. The institutions from Odisha in that list are:

• ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar (Management)
• BHADRAK ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• Bhubaneswar Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• CAPITAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE, Bhubaneswar (Management)
• CAPITAL ENGINEERING COLLEGE, Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• DRIEMS BUSINESS SCHOOL, Cuttack (Management)
• Fakir Mohan  Autonomous College, Balasore (Management)
• Government College (Autonomous), Angul (Management)
• Hirakud Institute of Engineering & Technology, Baragarh  (Engineering)
• INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY, Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• KRUTTIKA INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, Bhubaneswar  (Engineering)
• Pentagon School of Management, Bhubaneswar (Management)
• Radhakrishna Institute of Engineering and Technology (RITE), Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• RAYAGADA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, Rayagada (Engineering)
• Saraswat Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (Management)
• Shibani Institute of Business and Management, Bhubaneswar (Management)
• SRI KRISHNA CHAITANYA ENGINEERING COLLEGE, Bhubaneswar (Engineering)
• UDAYANATH COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Adaspur (Management)

For the list of proposed institutions from Odisha that were in the pipeline see http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4683.

Add comment June 25th, 2010

Innovative Gramin ITC by HDF (Human Development Foundation)

I became aware of this program from the following ad in Samaja. I was not aware of any such program before.

More details about the program is available in  the site http://www.hdf.org.in/graminITC/Introduction.

Add comment June 24th, 2010

Bhubaneswar Odisha a favorite for second campuses of Business Schools

Businessworld has an article on various management schools that are opening second campuses across the country. Among the seven institutes that are mentioned regarding second campuses, Bhubaneswar figures with respect to 4 of them. The article also updates on the status of these campuses. Following are some excerpts:

… International Management Institute (IMI) is also setting up a second campus in Bhubaneswar. The ostensible reason for a second campus is the shortage of infrastructure at the Delhi campus. “But the choice of location was based on the encouragement from the state government and our desire to bring high quality management education to this region,” says P.K. Bhaumik, director, IMI-Delhi.

… Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), has already been given land by the Orissa government for its second campus in Khurda (15 km from the main campus). “The government of Orissa had said they would build a compound wall to the Khurda campus and hand it over to us,” says P.T. Joseph, director, XIMB. The institute also plans to open two new campuses in Bolangir and Sambalpur in Orissa. However, the state government is yet to sign the Memorandum of Understanding for the other two plots.

Similarly, Birla Institute of Management Technology (Bimtech), has been granted 30 acres of land by the Orissa government to set up a new campus in Bhubaneswar. “So far, we have registered the new campus and are finalising the design. With two specialised programmes, Faculty of Management and Faculty of Design, the first session is expected to start in June 2012,” says Harivansh Chaturvedi, director of Bimtech.

…Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI University), which has eight campuses all over the country, is now adding new campuses in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Guwahati, Indore and Bhubaneswar.  “This is not a new trend. For so long, the IIMs were at seven different locations and Xavier’s was at four different locations. Now, others are following,” says Koshy Verghese, secretary general, Federation of Universities, Hyderabad.

Does the above mean that BIMTech Bhubaneswar will have a program in Design.

3 comments June 21st, 2010

Top Business School clusters in India; Bhubaneswar among top 10

Using the ranking of business schools given in a Businessworld article and adding a few well-known business school that were not part of that ranking, following is a clustering of those schools with respect to the metropolitan areas of India.

Based on the above clusters following are some remarks.

• The New Delhi metropolitan area has the maximum number of top business schools (25) followed by Mumbai (14). The population of these two areas explain why that is the case.
• The next tire is: Hyderabad (7), Pune (8), Kolkata (7) and Bangalore (6).
• Closely following them are: Bhubaneswar (5), Ahmedabad (4) and Chennai (4)

With regards to Bhubaneswar, besides the above ranked schools there are some other good schools that are in existence and some more are coming up. The one that exists are: HDF and IITTM; the ones that are coming up soon are: campus of IMI and campus of BIMTech; the ones that will come up further down the line are: Business schools of Sri Sri University and Vedanta University. One thing to note is that all the top ranked business schools in Bhubaneswar are private ones.

Add comment June 20th, 2010

Xavier University discussed in Odisha Cabinet; but no bill was presented

Following is from a report in tathya.in about the discussion of Xavier University in the Odisha Cabinet.

Ananga Udaya Singh Deo has favoured Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar(XIMB) to set up Xavier University in the state.

Minister Planning & Coordination speaking in the State Cabinet on 9 June, said if any institution merits for a University status, it is XIMB.

Giving out details Minister said that XIMB is serving the State of Odisha since 1987 has more than 4000 alumni, out of whom more than two third are from Odisha.

Mr.Singh Deo said educational institutions with little known academic excellence are allowed to set up universities, where as proposal of XIMB for a University is pending for a long time.

Cabinet was given details on XIMB by Mr.Singh Deo as he said being a Jesuit Institution, XIMB can easily tie up with other Jesuit Universities from all across the world such as University of Santa Clara, Loyala Chicago, Georgetown, St.Louis and Marquette etc.

Speaking about the credibility of XIMB, he said that for 180 seats of PGDM, XIMB has attracted 20,000 applications.

He said that in 2010 it self 48 foreign students have expressed their desire to come and spend a semester at XIMB and by making it a University more foreign students will be attracted.

XIMB has collaborations with 12 international universities and more are in offing, revealed the Minister Planning & Coordination.

Pointing out about the cent per cent placements of its students and highest placement records in Odisha has proved the credentials of XIMB in the country, said he.

Involvement of XIMB in the development of most backward districts of Odisha in KBK, where it is planning to set up its second campus will go a long way if they are allowed to set up a University, added he.

So Mr.Singh Deo urged Minister Higher Education to place the Xavier University Bill for approval of the Cabinet as soon as possible for the best interest of the state.

Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Higher Education sounded on a positive note.

Although it is good that Xavier University was discussed in the cabinet, it is really unfortunate that the bill was not brought to the cabinet, while bills corresponding to lesser institutions were brought to the cabinet.

Following is from another article in tathya.in.

Decision makers in Odisha have failed to visualize the implications of delaying the establishment of University of Xavier Institute, which is going to cost the state dearly, feel educationists and intelligentsia.

Xavier is a brand name well known in Odisha (through XIMB), India and abroad and educational institutions bearing the Xavier name are highly regarded in India and abroad. 

While the State Government is sponsoring proposals of  institutions little known for their academic excellence, they have all along ignored the proposal of Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB) for a univarsity. 

Just for comparison purposes, there is no Sri Sri labeled educational institution that is in any rankings. 

Similarly, there is no Vedanta named higher educational institution. 

And last but not the least Krupaluji Maharaj has been given land to set up a University in Odisha!!! 

The Jesuit Society of India has established the XIMB.

XIMB is a top management institute in India and ranked very highly and in fact, it is the highest ranking institute in Odisha in any field. 

The next closest is NIT Rourkela which is ranked in the thirties among all engineering colleges/institutes. 

In India: Besides XIMB, XLRI (Xavier Labor Research Institute, Jamshedpur) is a top 5-7 ranked management institute in the country.

Similarly, XISS (Xavier Institute of Social Services, Ranchi) is also a well-established name. 

In addition there are many other Jesuit institutions that are well regarded in India. 

This includes the various Loyola colleges. 

In US: There are three Xavier Universities in USA in Cincinnati, Chicago and Louisiana. 

In addition there are about 30 other Jesuit universities in the USA which include famous universities such as Georgetown University. 

If a Xavier University is made in Odisha, it will be the first Xavier University in India. 

The above facts make a Xavier University in Odisha very special. 

By being the first Xavier University in India, it will have the first mover’s advantage. 

By virtue of being the first Jesuit University in India, a Xavier University in Odisha will be in a position to get help from the 30 Jesuit Universities in US. 

XIMB is ready to start construction that will make it a university, said sources. 

XIMB had already planned for expansion and was ready to start construction for some time. 

The XIMB Director Father P T Joseph has already received permission from the Jesuit society to set up Xavier University. 

This has been also discussed in the recent board meeting of XIMB. 

Several new programs that will be part of the university are already approved by the XIMB governing board. 

Father Joseph, the Director of XIMB notices the lack of good arts and commerce programs in Odisha (the IIT, NISER, NLUO, XIMB, IIPH, AIIMS etc. take care of the engineering, science, law, business, public health and medicine areas) and would like the Xavier University to have top notch world class programs in arts and commerce.

The top ranked Arts and Commerce programs in the country include many other sister Jesuit institutions such as Loyola Colleges, St. Xavier’s colleges and St. Joseph’s colleges.

Despite all of the above, the Odisha Government is dilly-dallying in establishing the Xavier University in Odisha. 

This is especially bad because a sister institution of Xavier, the Georgetown University of the US is interested in opening a branch in India. 

If only the Odisha government had established Xavier University, it could have approached Georgetown to open its branch in Bhubaneswar.

Because of the lack of foresight of Odisha, the state may not only remain backward in arts and commerce programs, but it may also lose the chance to get a branch of the famous Georgetown University to Odisha.

12 comments June 9th, 2010

Expert visit dates of proposed new AICTE colleges and programs in Odisha (as of 28th May 2010)

The following is from http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/expertsch/Expert%20Visit%20Schedule%20as%20on%2028.05.10.htm. 

Following is the list of Colleges and Programs that are in the pipeline. It is obtained from http://www.aicte-india.org/excel/30april/Orissa_300410.htm.

1 comment May 23rd, 2010

Everonn plans business schools at Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Pune

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Everonn Education Ltd, a Chennai-based education services company, announced plans to set up seven management institutes at a cost of Rs 25 crore each, by the next academic year. These would be set up in collaboration with a partner at Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Pune.

The proposed investment would be funded through debt and internal accruals, said P Kishore, Everonn’s managing director. “While our partner will invest in infrastructure and land, we will be bringing content and technology, where company has its expertise,” he said.

Add comment May 20th, 2010

IIPM Kansbahal to start M.Tech in Production Management; first such M. Tech in Odisha

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Indian Institute of Production Management (IIPM) located in Kansbahal, Sundergarh, has scored a first in the State by starting an MTech programme in Production Engineering. Classes are expected to start from July 10, 2010. The course will be conducted by the Wellteach University of Chennai and 25 students will be taken in through a Joint Entrance Examination to be conducted by the university in June. The course fee for the 2-year course has been pegged at Rs 2 lakh.

Announcing this to the media in a meeting organised here on Sunday, Director Prof MR Nayak emphasised that even though the institute does not have any BTech course on offer it has ventured to conduct the MTech course because of its close to three decades of experience in training and consulting activity in the field of production engineering which has seen over 30,000 trainees pass through its portals including 1,400 persons from abroad. Because of its uniqueness of expertise and experience it has been included as an approved training institute under the Colombo Plan and the international trainees are sent here for training after selection by the Ministry of External affairs of the Government of India.

Last year it created a school of management and started an MBA program.

Add comment May 18th, 2010

IIT Kharagpur to start 3 year executive MBA in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata

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

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management is starting two MBA programs for working executives at it Kolkata and Bhubhaneswar campuses. Working on a 3-year structure that will allow participants to work while they study, the courses are largely targeted towards the local population of each city they shall function in. While the Executive MBA at the Kolkata campus has a general management bent the Knowledge Industries MBA (KIMBA) at the Bhubhaneswar campus would focus on the IT and ITES sectors, explained EMBA coordinator Prof Gautam Sinha.

The intakes for both the programs would be 15 to 30 students each while the minimum eligibility will be three years of work experience and either an engineering education or post-graduate education in commerce, science or economics. More about the application system to the courses on the VGSoM website.

Prima facie, there are few differences between the EMBA and KIMBA except for a couple of core courses. The IT/ITES focused KIMBA has courses such as Technology Management and Services Management, which in the EMBA are replaced by International Management and IT & Business Applications Laboratory. Interestingly, the KIMBA has two courses on Financial Accounting while the EMBA has none. Both courses cost Rs 6 lakhs in fees, including a one-year international immersion program, which according to Prof Sinha may be carried out with one of IIT Kharagpur’s 99 tie-ups with various international institutions.

While both the courses look similar to 3-year part-time MBA courses in structure and content, Prof Sinha argues that several executive MBA courses across the world follow the part-time model. While that may be true, popular executive MBA programs in the USA or Europe wrap up in an year’s time, recognizing that the opportunity cost for working executives to stay away from work is high. To that extent, VGSOM’s Executive programs seem like 3-year part-time MBAs that give you an Executive MBA degree at the end, thus keeping you away from the stigma attached to the ‘part-time’ bit of part-time MBA.

Prof Sinha defends the three-year pattern of VGSOM’s Executive MBAs saying, “One-year or two-year programs are high pressure situations which might not be conducive for people with families.”

The links for the two programs are:

1. E-MBA at Kolkata  for all industries
2. KI-MBA at Bhubaneswar  for knowledge industries like Information Technology sector.

Note that earlier IIT Kharagpur also introduced 3 year weekend and after hours M.Tech programs in both cities. See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4118.

Add comment May 12th, 2010

Odisha proposes upgradation of Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (IED) to a national level institute of MSME

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard by Bishnu Das.

The state government, in its proposal, has proposed to convert the existing Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (IED) at Bhubaneswar, a nodal agency of the Orissa government, to a national level institute for MSMEs. The proposed national institute for MSME would be in line with National Institute of Enterprise and Business Development, Noida, National Institute of MSME, at Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship located at Guwahati. Since the Union government plans to set up three such new centres in the country, the state government intends to cash in on the opportunity. The state government has offered to provide the infrastructure including land belonging to IED for setting up this institute.

1 comment April 20th, 2010

BIMTECH campus in Bhubaneswar to start from 2012

BIMTECH’s home page is at http://bimtech.ac.in/. In that page they have a link BIMTECH New Campus/ Bhubaneswar Orissa in the "What’s new" part. Following is the content of that document.

BIMTECH is soon going to Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, which today, is on a fast track o f development because of the proactive developmental policies of the Orissa Government under the leadership of Mr. Navin Patnaik. We have approached the state government for setting up a campus of our institute at Bhubaneshwar. Mr. B K Das, Advisor to the institute, contacted various government agencies in the months of September and October 2009. A formal proposal indicating our long term plans for setting up a state-of-the-art management institute/private university was submitted to the government. We are delighted that the Orissa Government has taken a quick decision and alloted 29.4 acres land located in a prime institutional area called Gothapatna. It is not far away from the city and the airport. The famous caves of Udaigiri and Khandgiri are in the neighbourhood of this location. Gothapatna has already been developed by the Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IDCO). Three other renowned institutions- Navratna National Aluminium Company (NALCO), India Institute of Information Technology( IIIT) and International Management Institute (IMI, Delhi) have been alloted plots in the neighbourhood. Syt. B K Birla and Dr. (Smt.) Sarala Birla, Founders and Patrons of our institute have taken keen interest in this project. Not only have they granted their permission for this project, but also wished that the campus, with all amenities and facilities, should be ready by June 2012. Dr. H Chaturvedi, Director, BIMTECH alog with Mr B.K.DAS visited Bhubaneshwar on December 5-6, 2009 and met senior officials of the Orissa Government. Dr. Chaturvedi also visited campuses of some reputed educational institutions and spoke to eminent educationists of Orissa. There has been an enthusiastic response to our plans of starting the campus from June 2012.

Add comment April 16th, 2010

XIMB to have a campus in Balangir; a second campus in the Bhubaneswar area near OEC

Update: For some time XIMB has been planning to expand in the Bhubaneswar area. See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1679. It is also interested in becoming a private university. See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/2788. A recent Business Standard report says the following about the campus in the Bhubaneswar area:

XIMB which had kicked off its operations in the city in 1987, aimed to operationalize its second campus in the state by 2012, the year marking the silver jubilee …

… P T Joseph, director, XIMB said, “We will be coming up with two new campuses in the state- one at Bolangir and the other at Khurda. The Orissa government has already alloted us 35 acres of land at Khurda and has agreed to provide 25 acres of land on the outskirts of Bolangir town.”

The XIMB campus at Bolangir will exclusively focus on the Rural Management Programme and will have an intake of 120 students.

“Our campus at Bolangir will be a fully residential facility with a built-up area of 1.55 lakh sq ft and it will only offer the Post Graduate Diploma course in Rural Management. We will phase out the Rural Management programme at our existing campus in Bhubaneswar after the establishment of the Bolangir campus”, Joseph added.

XIMB’s campus will come up about seven km from Bolangir town and the institute wants to offer a rural ambience to the students pursuing the Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management.

XIMB’s campus at Khurda is coming close to the campus of Orissa Engineering College.

It also seems to be making progress in the university front as tathya.in has a headline saying "XIMB University in offing".

See http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=3962 for the news item on this in tathya.in. Following is from Samaja.

5 comments April 12th, 2010

New dynamic VCs lead the Sambalpur region towards a knowledge hub

UCE Burla becoming VSSUT and the hiring of dynamic vice Chancellors at VSSUT (Prof. D K Tripathy from IIT Kharagpur) as well as at Sambalpur University (Prof. Arun Pujari from the University of Hyderabad) has given a huge momentum in making the Sambalpur area a knowledge hub and together with similar progress at Rourkela a western knowledge corridor is now in the making. In this write-up we will focus on the greater Sambalpur area ranging from Bargarh in the west of Sambalpur to Jharsuguda and Sundergarh in the north and north east.

• Universities: Two exists; 2 more in the making
  • There are two universities with dynamic leadership at their helm: VSSUT and Sambalpur University
  • Sambalpur University has received approval and funding for a SU-IIT (Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology) and is pursuing a sports institute.
  • VSSUT has significant expansion plans.
  • There is a proposal to upgrade GM college to a unitary university.
  • The health minister had announced to upgrade VSS Medical College to a university.
  • Branch of OUAT in Chipilima.
• Engineering Colleges: Besides VSSUT, there are five more engineering colleges in the area. 2 in Baragarh, 1 in Jharsuguda, 1 in Sundergarh and 1 in Sason (Silicon West).
• Management Institute: XIMB plans a campus in this area.
• Centrally funded Institutes: IIHT (Indian Institute of Handloom Technology) in Baragarh.
• Research Institute: CIFT Burla.
• Other Colleges: Panchayat College Baragarh, NSCB College Sambalpur, Govt. Womens College Sambalpur, Govt. College Sundergarh and Govt. Womens College Sundergarh.
• Demography: See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/2715
• Infrastructure:
  • Rail Connectivity: See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/2005
  • Airport: Jharsuguda airport is under construction.

The above gives the current status of this area. In addition to the efforts mentioned above, following should also be pursued.

• The VSSUT must be upgraded to a national level institute such as an IIEST (Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology)
• An STP must be established in Sambalpur.
• Operationalization of Jharsuguda airport must be expedited.
• One of the central government departments such as CSIR, DAE, Sc & Tech, etc. needs to open a research center here.
• The Orissa government should push to upgrade the VSS Medical College to the AIIMS level.
• Establishment of private medical colleges in this area must be encouraged.
• The OUAT college in Chipilima needs to upgraded and expanded
• A regional university (similar to the old regional engineering colleges, with 50-50 partnership between the state and the central govt.) should be established in Jharsuguda. (This could be part of the 12th five year plan starting from 2012.)
• A state university should be established in Jharsuguda during the 13th plan. (by 2020)
• A state university should be established in Baragarh during the 13th plan. (by 2020)
• Considering the rapid industrialization of the area, the Govt. Engineering School in Jharsuguda should be upgraded to an engineering college, perhaps as a constituent college of VSSUT.

NOTE on Comments: Only constructive comments will be allowed. Please do not submit comments that advocate separatism, conspiracy theories, shifting, badmouthing, etc.

Add comment March 14th, 2010

Making Rourkela a Tier II city of India – HRD and other development of Rourkela (work in progress)

Rourkela is the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa with an official metropolitan population of 550,668 but perhaps much more (at least 700 K) if one takes into account nearby places like Biramitrapur and Rajgangpur. It is probably the most cosmopolitan area of Orissa. Because of its steel plant it has world-wide name recognition. It has a lot of young talents; I am told that Rourkela youngsters have done much better in entrance exams like IIT JEE than from other parts of Orissa. Rourkela and the Sundergarh district have produced many national hockey players (both male and female), some of whom have gone on to captain the Indian national side.

Being an important station in the Mumbai-Howrah line, Rourkela is very well connected to both. The National Institute of Technology at Rourkela is often ranked among the top 5 NITs of the country; in recent years it has done much better and is in the process of starting a business program. Rourkela also has two private engineering colleges and at least one more is in the works. Rourkela has at least two good magament schools: Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (sometimes ranked nationally) and Indian Institute of Production Management, Kansbahal.  

Overall, Rourkela has the potential to be a Tier II city of India at the level of Vizag, Chandigarh, etc. But unfortunately, that has not happened so far and active organized efforts need to  be made to achieve that.

So here I will list some of the things that should be pursued so that Rourkela becomes a Tier II city of India.

Knowledge and HRD aspects:

• Metropolitan University: Rourkela is perhaps the largest metropolitan area of the country, or may be the whole world which does not have a general university. This needs to be rectified at the earliest. IMHO, the best model to follow would be of Delhi University. So a Rourkela Metropolitan University should be established  with graduate programs as well as with a few constituent colleges spread (offering Bachelors as well as Masters degrees) across the metropolitan area, but with no affiliated colleges. The exisiting government colleges in Rourkela (Govt. College, Rourkela; SG Women’s, Rourkela and Rourkela College) would be made constituents of this university.
• Medical College: Although a WODC sponsored PPP-based medical college is in the works, we must continue pursuing an ESIC medical college here. SAIL, which is making a medical college in Bokaro, should also be pushed to establish a medical college here.
• BPUT: BPUT must become fully operational from Rourkela.It  needs to have real departments and centers and offer its own courses. It should be expanded to have programs in Science and Humanities.
• Research Centers: The state should pursue one of the central government departments such as CSIR, DAE, Sc & Tech, etc. to open a research center in Rourkela.
• Centrally funded University: At some point a centrally funded university should be pursued for Rourkela.
• More private institutions: Rourkela has the population base and the amenities that metropolitan areas offer to have more private institutions such as engineering colleges, management institutions etc. A multi-pronged apporoach should be taken.
  • Local big industries should be cajoled to participate in this. For example, SAIL is also planning an engineering college in Bokaro. They should be pushed to have one in Rourkela.
  • Local people should also open private institutions on their own.
  • Educational foundations inside and outside state that have developed good private institutions should be approached and invited to open institutions in Rourkela. Inside Orissa, institutions like Silicon and NIST should be approached. 
• STP: The STP at Rourkela should be expanded.
• IT/BPO: Because of the cosmopolitan nature of Rourkela, it would be a good place for BPO and call center operations. This should be pursued.
• Sports Institute/University: Sundergrah district is considered by many to be the Hockey cradle of India, both in men’s and women’s hockey. It has produced both Men’s and Women’s hockey team captains in Dilip Tirkey and Jyoti Sunita Kullu. Orissa government should pursue to establish a National Sports Institute (of the kind in Patiala) in Rourkela. It should include programs in physical training, coach training, official training etc. This would specially contribute  in the enhancing the employment opportunities for Adivasis who constitute 50.74% of Sundergarh’s population.

Connectivity Aspects:

• Rail Connectivity -Trains: While the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata is marvelous, connectivity to other places needs improvement. Dilip has a good list of new trains needed for Rourkela at http://rourkelarail.wetpaint.com/page/DEMANDS. This list is:
  • Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express( Day Time)
  • Rourkela-Berhampur Gajapati Express
  • Rourkela-Secundarabad/Hyderabad Express
  • Trains to New Delhi from Bhubaneswar via Rourkela OR Rourkela-Nizamuddin/New Delhi Express (Any extension of Ranchi-Hatia or Tatanagar trains will also work)
  • Trains to Patna and Eastern U.P.
• Rail Connectivity-Others: The Talcher-Bimlagarh line must be fast-tracked.
• Roads: The 4-laning of the state highway 10 connecting Sambalpur and Rourkela must be expedited.
• Air Connectivity: Rourkela airport must be made functional with commercial flights at the earliest.

Metro area:

• A larger metropolitan area for Rourkela that includes Kansbahal and Rajgangpur in the west and Biramitrapur in the North must be formally established.
• The state government should pursue Rourkela to be included in JNNURM.

(The above is from Google Maps.)

(The above is from "sarini: Occasional papers, No. 4, Adivasis of Rourkela")

Work in Progress…

42 comments November 15th, 2009