See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3365; in particular http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/wp-content/uploads/image/20100315%20budget.JPG. The later shows that the 2010 budget has 32.5 crores for making the building and the foundation for the proposed medical college associated with the Capital Hospital. This was proposed and announced several years back. Good to see this in the budget. This is a good and inexpensive way to make a medical college as the hospital, beds, doctors and patients are already there. Adding a few more as required by MCI would lead to a medical college and at least 100 more students per year would then be able to pursue medicine in a government facility at an affordabale cost. These students and the future PG students would be beneficial to the patients. This is a win-win situation at comparatively small additional cost. (The total budget for this was earlier mentioned as 100 crores.)
This approach should be immediately replicated in all the other larger size hospitals in the state; if necessary in a PPP mode, as is being done in Karnataka. (There was a recent news that a team from Odisha was planing to visit Karnataka to find more about how it is being done there.)
In addition as mentioned before SAIL should do the same with respect to IGH in Rourkela.
March 16th, 2010
(Thanks to the Suryanarayanan’s comment number 147 in http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/285).
The IISER admission site at http://www.iiser-admissions.in/ says that there will be three ways to get admission in the IISERs: (i) KVPY (ii) IIT JEE and (iii) Direct.
But by "Direct" they mean through an aptitude test that will be held on July 18 2010. They say:
Direct Admission is open to applicants who have Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and/or Biology in their class 12 board examination. Aptitude Assessment consists of a written test. It will have multiple choice questions on Physics Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology based on CBSE syllabus up to class 12.
The NISER NEST exam will be on June 6th. Details at http://www.nestexam.in/index1.php.
IISERs and NISER should have co-ordinated to have a single test. It does not make sense to have separate tests for admission into similar programs. Such lack of co-ordination and foresight is what encourages the government to interfere and issue diktats.
March 15th, 2010
Tathya.in reports that this time nice debates are going on in the Odisha assembly.Following are some Samaja reports on debates relevant to education.



March 14th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from http://www.bharattextile.com/newsitems/2010539.
Ministry of Textiles has received a proposal from the State Government of Orissa for establishment of a NIFT Centre at Bhubaneswar. State Government has also conveyed its commitment for providing land free of cost and funds for creating necessary infrastructure. The approximate cost of establishing NIFT centre would be Rs.58.65 crore. This information was given by the Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi in the Rajya Sabha, in a written reply to a question by Smt. Renubala Pradhan.
March 12th, 2010
Update:Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59525.
LOK SABHA
The Government has approved setting up of six AIIMS-like institutions in the States of Bihar (Patna), Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Orissa (Bhubaneswar), Rajasthan (Jodhpur) and Uttarakhand (Rishikesh) under the first phase of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). It is also proposed to set up two more institutions, one each in the State of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in the second phase of PMSSY.
Each institution will have a 960 bedded hospital (500 beds for the medial college hospital; 300 beds for Specialty/Super Specialty; 100 beds for ICU/Accident trauma; 30 beds for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and 30 beds for Ayush ) intended to provide healthcare facilities in 42 specialty/super-specialty disciplines.
Bids for construction of hospital and medical college complex for the six AIIMS-like institutions in the first phase are under process. The timeline for completion of these works is the second half of 2012.
This information was given by Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question raised in Lok Sabha today.
Following are excerpts from a report in Indian Express.
… The AIIMS at Bhopal is likely to cost Rs 849.46 crore, Bhubaneswar Rs 820.49 crore, Jodhpur Rs 777.64 crore, Patna Rs 858.43 crore, Raipur Rs 803.84 crore and Rishikesh Rs 820.15 crore.
… the officials suggested that certain operations of these new institutes should be outsourced through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Such operations include outsourcing routine/housekeeping services, hospital information system to a professionally managed agency and outsourcing of nursing orderlies and ward boys and other staff. “This strategy the health ministry officials argued would ensure minimal Group C & D employees,” a Plan panel source said. Nearly 95 per cent of the construction work for residential complexes for Jodhpur and Raipur Institutes has been completed, 45 per cent work has been completed for Patna and Rishikesh, while the construction for Bhopal and Bhubaneswar is gradually picking up,” he said. So far about 152 bids have been received including 57 for hospitals and 95 for medical colleges and hostels. “The technical and financial evaluation would be completed by March 30 and work is likely to commence by June 10,” the source said, quoting health ministry officials.
March 9th, 2010

March 7th, 2010
Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59071.
Setting up of AIIMS like Institutes
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17:24 IST |
The States identified for setting up of AIIMS-like institutions are based on criteria of various socio-economic indicators like human development index, literacy rate, population below poverty line and per capita income and health indicators like population to bed ratio, prevalence rate of serious communicable diseases, infant mortality rate etc.
Details of the proposed Institutes are as follows:-
Annexure-I
I. SETTING UP OF AIIMS-LIKE INSTITUTIONS
Ist Phase
1. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
2. Bhubaneswar (Orissa)
3. Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
4. Patna (Bihar)
5. Raipur (Chattisgarh)
6. Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)
2nd phase
1. Uttar Pradesh
2. West Bengal.
II. Upgradation of medical college institutions
|
S.No
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State
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Name of institution
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|
Ist phase
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|
|
1.
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Andhra Pradesh
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Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad.
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Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences,Tirupati
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2.
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Gujarat
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B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad
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|
3.
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
Govt. Medical College, Jammu
Govt. Medical College, Srinagar
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|
4.
|
Jharkhand
|
Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi
|
|
5.
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Karnataka
|
Govt. Medical College, Bangalore
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|
6.
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Kerala
|
Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram
|
|
7.
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Maharashtra
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Grants Medical College, Mumbai
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|
8.
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Tamil Nadu
|
Govt. Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College,Salem
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|
9.
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Uttar Pradesh
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Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science, Lucknow
Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras HinduUniversity, Varanasi
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|
10.
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West Bengal
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Kolkata Medical College, Kolkata.
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|
2nd Phase
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|
|
1.
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Haryana
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Pandit B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak
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|
2.
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Himachal Pradesh
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Dr. Rajendra Prasad Govt. Medical College, Tanda
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|
3.
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Maharashtra
|
Govt. Medical College, Nagpur
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|
4.
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Punjab
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Govt. Medical College, Amritsar
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|
5.
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Tamil Nadu
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Govt. Medical College, Madurai
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|
6.
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Uttar Pradesh
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Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of AMU, Aligarh
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Annexure-II.
I. Setting up of six AIIMS-like institutions in the Phase-I of PMSSY
(a) Medical College & Hospital Complex
Bids have been invited and are under evaluation. Bids are likely to be finalized by April, 2010. Work for Medical College and Hospital Complex is likely to start by June, 2010 and complete by June, 2012.
(b) Residential Complex
(Rs. in Crore)
|
S.
No
|
Site
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Current Status
(% of work completed)
|
Funds released
(upto 03.03.2010)
|
|
1.
|
Jodhpur
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95
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25.95
|
|
2.
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Patna
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50
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18.76
|
|
3.
|
Rishikesh
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50
|
43.11
|
|
4.
|
Bhubaneswar
|
15
|
19.93
|
|
5.
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Raipur
|
95
|
28.99
|
|
6.
|
Bhopal
|
20
|
4.39
|
|
|
|
|
|
II. Two new AIIMS-like institutions being set up under Phase-II
. Location of AIIMS-like institutions proposed to be set up in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal is being finalized in consultation with the respective State Governments.
III. Upgradation of medical college institutions
(Rs. in Crore)
|
S.
No
|
Name of the institution
|
Current Status
(% of work completed)
|
Funds released
(upto 03.03.2010)
|
|
Civil work
|
Procurement of medical equipments
|
|
1st Phase of PMSSY
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
ThiruvananthapuramMedical College
|
99.5
|
44.66
|
33.86
|
|
2
|
Salem Medical College
|
94
|
54.47
|
-
|
|
3
|
Bangalore MedicalCollege
|
89
|
45.00
|
34.99
|
|
4
|
Kolkata MedicalCollege
|
60
|
30.23
|
9.31
|
|
5
|
SGPGIMS, Lucknow
|
67
|
45.76
|
27.03
|
|
6
|
NIMS, Hyderabad
|
78
|
74.23
|
-
|
|
7
|
Jammu MedicalCollege
|
89
|
45.21
|
21.37
|
|
8
|
Srinagar MedicalCollege
|
39
|
20.76
|
34.60
|
|
9
|
IMS, BHU, Varanasi
|
37
|
34.35
|
22.05
|
|
10
|
RIMS, Ranchi
|
15
|
21.20
|
23.85
|
|
11
|
BJ Med. College,Ahmedabad
|
50
|
7.00
|
37.23
|
|
12
|
SVIMS, Tirupati
|
70
|
-
|
39.55
|
|
13
|
Grants Med. College, Mumbai
|
65
|
-
|
57.83
|
|
2nd Phase of PMSSY
|
|
|
|
|
14.
|
Government MedicalCollege, Nagpur
|
10
|
-
|
40.00
|
|
15.
|
Government MedicalCollege, Amritsar
|
Tender process initiated
|
-
|
-
|
|
16.
|
Pandit B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences,Rohtak
|
Upgradationplans of all these four medical colleges are under finalization
|
-
|
-
|
|
17
|
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Govt. Medical College,Tanda
|
-
|
-
|
|
18
|
Govt. Medical College,Madurai
|
-
|
-
|
|
19
|
Jawaharlal NehruMedical College of AMU, Aligarh
|
-
|
-
|
This information was given by Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam NabiAzad in written reply to a question raised in Lok Sabha today.
DS/GK
|
March 5th, 2010
The advertisement http://www.cipet.gov.in/pdfs/advt.2010.pdf mentions that CIPET is upgrading its centers to High Learning Centers to impart B.Tech, M.Tech and Ph.D programs with exclusive R & D hubs ARSTPS & LARPM. (Note: I think LARPM was the first R & D hub to be created by CIPET and was mentioned in a Jan 2009 PIB report. But both were also mentioned in a May 2008 Economic Times article.)
As per http://www.cipet.gov.in/research.html:
Technology innovation through dedicated research work by a Core team has been the philosophy of CIPET, which led to the establishment of 02 R&D centres – Laboratory for Advance Research in polymeric Materials (LARPM) & Advance Research School for Technology & Product simulation (ARSTPS) at CIPET Bhubaneswar & Chennai respectively. …
The vision for these R&D Centres have been conceived with objectives of transforming CIPET as a Global research Centre on Polymeric Materials as well as a Resource centre for newer concept development & conversion of concept into reality by Product development on commercial scales. Technology transfer, creation of Intellectual Property (IP), knowledge base with validated documentation would be the key aspects of functioning of R&D entities.
The significance of LARPM & ARSTPS is evident from the fact that they will be chaired by Director General and functioning independently under the Technology & Business development department of Corporate Office. The targets for both R&D centres have been set to pursue the objectives in mission mode. The experienced & competent faculties have been drawn from the existing pool of CIPET along with newly inducted researchers.
Operating model of LARPM & ARSTPS would be influenced with 03 “Rs”- Relevance to industry needs, Result-oriented output, Resourceful base to operate as ‘Centre of excellence”. It is worth mentioning that LARPM has already been sanctioned 03 sponsored projects from Funding agencies of Govt. of India. Similarly, ARSTPS has already initiated industry sponsored projects for Automotive, Medical & Aerospace Industries.
The identified focus areas of LARPM & ARSTPS are as follows:
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Biopolymers |
|
Innovative Product Design for Medical, Automobile, Aerospace and Packaging Industries |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Polymer Composites & Nanocomposites |
|
Product and Tool Design Conceptualization (modeling, analysis, process optimization & simulation approach ) |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Functional Plastics, Carbon nanotubes |
|
E- Manufacturing of Prototypes.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Polymer Membranes, Conducting polymers
|
|
Reverse Engineering for metal and conventional
material substitution.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Development & Characterization of Engg.
Polymers, Blends/Alloys |
|
- |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
The home page of LARPM is http://cipet.gov.in/cipetr&d/. As per http://cipet.gov.in/pdfs/research.pdf there are already 5 students pursuing Ph.D at LARPM. Following are concept drawings of their upcoming building.

The 2010-2011 admission ad shows the B.tech and M.tech programs that will be offered in 2010-2011. The program that will be offered at CIPET Bhubaneswar are:
- B.Tech in Plastics Engineering/Technology (Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Chennai , Lucknow, Haldia – proposed)
- B.Tech in Manufacturing Engineering & Technology – proposed (Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Lucknow)
- M.Tech in Plastics Engineering/Technology (Bhubaneswar, Chennai , Lucknow, Hajipur)
- M.Tech in Polymer Nano Technology (LARPM – Bhubaneswar)
- M.Sc M.Tech in Material Science & Engineering (Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Lucknow).
The only program not listed to be offered at Bhubaneswar, but offered elsewhere, is
- M.Engg in CAD CAM (ARSTPS – Chennai)
Besides the above; all the 15 CIPET centers offer the following diplomas and PG Diplomas:
- Diploma in Plastic mould technology (3 yrs)
- Diploma in Plastics technology (3 yrs)
- PG Diploma in plastic mould design (1 yrs)
- PG Diploma in plastic processing & testing (1.5 yrs)
Finally, the Mancheswar branch of CIPET offers the following programs:
- ITI-Fitter, ITI-Electrician, ITI-IT&ESM and ITI-Welder
- and various short term courses and CAD/CAM courses.
From the above it looks like CIPET Chennai and Bhubaneswar are among the leaders. However neither Odisha nor Tamil Nadu have a NIPER. (The original NIPER is near Mohali and Chandigarh. As part of the 11th plan, new NIPERs were made in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Hajipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Rae Bareli.) I hope Odisha pursues and gets one during the next five year plan.
February 20th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.
Patnaik said that the Union secretary also said the Centre is willing to set up a branch of the CIPET (Cental Institute of Plastic Engineering Tehncology) at Balasore in the state. For the institute, the state government has agreed to provide 15 acres of land, he disclosed.
The information regarding the other two Odisha campuses of CIPET are in the following web sites.
The proposed 3rd campus in Balasore is mainly due to the efforts of Central Minister and Balasore MP Srikant Jena. The other campuses of CIPET in the rest of India are shown in this map.
February 20th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.
Sahyog Foundation, a city-based non-profit organization, would invest Rs 1100 crore in setting up a medicity spread over 300 acres at Jagatpur near Cuttack as well as a medical college and hospital at Keonjhar.
The amount will be raised by the foundation through a mix of debt and contributions from the promoters and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
The Keonjhar project which is being taken up on the public private partnership (PPP) mode at an investment of Rs 200 crore will have a medical college with an intake of 50 seats to begin with and a 300-bed hospital.
Debasis Sahoo, director, Sahyog Foundation said, “We will sign the MoU … with the Orissa government for setting up the medical college and hospital at Keonjhar by the end of this month. Apart from alloting 20 acres of land free of cost, the state government has also given us an incentive grant of Rs 10 crore for the project.”
Construction work on the proposed medical college and hospital at Keonjhar is set to take off in April this year and the first batch of students for the MBBS course will be admitted in 2011.
“While the hospital at Keonjhar will offer treatment in various super specialties, the focus will be on malaria ad tuberculosis. Seventy per cent of the beds in this hospital will be reserved for the BPL (Below Poverty Line) families.”
… The medical college and hospital at Keonjhar will offer direct employment opportunities to 3000 people.
For its Rs 900-crore medicity project at Jagatpur, Sahyog Foundation has started the process of land acquisition. The medicity project is expected to be operational by 2014.
Besides a 150-seater medical college and a 700-bed hospital, the medicity will have a homeopathic college, an Ayurvedic college and other public amenities like a shopping mall, gymnasium, swimming pool and food court.
… Apart from generating around 5000 direct jobs, the medicity will also create indirect employment for 150000 people.
Similar news was reported earlier (for example here) but the numbers in those early reports did not make sense.
Similarly there have been news reports (see here and here) about a US based group called Euthenic Group consortium that wants to set up a 1000 bed super speciality hospital in Orissa. However, after seeing the webpage of Euthenic Group (see http://euthenicgroup.com/) I don’t have a good feeling on this. Also I don’t understand what is meant when expressbuzz says the following:
After completion of the project, it will be handed over to the State Government. The hospital will be the property of the State Government.
It does not quite make financial sense that this group will make an hospital and then hand it over to the state government at the end of the completion of project. May be by "at the completion of project" they mean after a long long time; say 30 years.
February 18th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.
Prof. Amiya Kumar Pattanayak has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of the Utkal University of Culture. …
Born in 1949, Prof Pattanayak started his academic journey in 1972. He holds a Ph.D in history and was professor in Berhampur University during 1994-2008. He was Registrar of Berhampur University, served as a warden, was also the Director of Distant Education Centre, Director of College Developmental Council and Director’s Women Studies Research Centre.
Prof Pattanayak has written six books, edited 12 books, has sixty-five research publications. 15 scholars have been awarded Ph.D under his guidance. Nine are continuing research under him at present. He has produced 37 M.Phil. scholars.
February 16th, 2010

February 14th, 2010
Thanks to Rahul Barik for the pointer. The Telgraph article is at http://telegraphindia.com/1100214/jsp/nation/story_12104169.jsp. Following is the graphics from that web site.

February 14th, 2010

February 11th, 2010
Update: Following is from Samaja.

Following is from a report in Pioneer.
The State Government has decided to set up a technical university in Sambalpur. This university would be christened as Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology. The State Government has provided Rs 10 crore for this institute.
The Pioneer news above is a bit inaccurate. As far as I know it will be a part of Sambalpur University. The idea was mooted by Sambalpur University VC (who was earlier a Computer Science professor at University of Hyderabad) Prof. Arun Pujari. I have seen part of the proposal. Prof. Pujari had a very good proposal. His proposal and persistent efforts to get it approved finally got enthusiastic support from the IT Secretary Mr. Pradipta Mahaptra, the RDC and the Additional Chief Secretary Mr. S. P. Nanda and higher education officials (HE Secretary Mr. M. Padhi and others) and ministry. Kudos to all of them.
With the establishment of this Odisha will soon have three IIIT type institutes in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Sambalpur.
Special thanks to Prof. Arun Pujari. He has several other innovative plans for Sambalpur University. He has also made some very good hires in the Science disciplines at Sambalpur University. If he continues at the current rate he will be remembered as one of the best VCs of Sambalpur University. Lets support his innovative initiatives with all our heart.
February 11th, 2010
Update3: From Samaja – 10% seats will be reserved for students from Odisha.

Update2: From Dharitri

Update: Business Standard has more details on this. Following are some excerpts.
Speaking on the occasion, Patnaik said, … “IIPH, in consultation with the state government, will impart training programmes for enhancing the capacity of the public health functionaries across all levels. The institute will offer Post-Graduate diploma programmes in Public Health Management, Health Economics, Health Care Financing, Health Policy, Biostatistics and Data Management. In addition, IIPH will conduct two-year diploma course in Public Health and Masters in Public Health”, he added.
… Reddy, the PHFI president, said, “Once the IIPH campus is fully operational, it will offer training short-term training programmes to 500 people and long-term training to 300 others.
As per the IIPH web pages currently the following courses are offered by the existing IIPHs.
- Delhi: PG Diploma in (a) Clinical Research (b) Public Health Management and (c) Health Economics, Health Care Financing and Health Policy
- Hyderabad: PG Diploma in (a) Biostatistics and Data Management
- Gandhinagar: PG Diploma in (a) Public Health Management
Earlier when it was announced that PHFI centers will open in Bhubaneswar and Balasore it was not clear what kind of center it would be. (See also here and here.) Following is an excerpt from a PTI report that says an IIPH will start in Bhubaneswar this July.
Orissa will soon get an Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) here which will start functioning from July this year.
An MoU in this regard was signed between the state government and the New Delhi-based Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for establishment of an IIPH here at an investment of Rs 140 crore.
"The institute will deal in education, training and research on prioritised health problems of the state," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said while attending a function on the occasion.
While the state government had agreed to give 40 acres of land free of cost at Kumarbasta village near here to establish the IIPH, the PHFI would invest the money for the purpose, Patnaik said.
Considering the real need with respect to containing Cholera, Malaria and other diseases that frequently break out in the hinterlands the IIPH in Bhubaneswar must establish branches in the hinterlands of Odisha.
February 10th, 2010
I stumbled across this institute in the web. Its home page is at http://euclidtmp.com/index.html. The teacher at this institute is Mr. S. B. Panigrahi. Although it seems to admit students that have done very well in their earlier exams, the overall result of the institute sounds very good.
As per the page http://euclidtmp.com/our-achievements.html over the period of 9 years from 2001 to 2009 this institute has created:
- More than 160 IITians
- More than 460 NITians
- More than 23 students qualifying in the entrance examination conducted by the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) which offers the world’s best undergraduate and one of the world’s best postgraduate courses in Statistics and Mathematics
- More than 55 students qualifying in the Regional Mathematics Olympiad which selects about 25 to 30 students from Orissa to represent the state in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO)
- 3 students having qualified in the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO) which selects about 30 students from India to represent India internationally in the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO)
Since this institute seems to only cover Maths, the above student must have had good background and/or good mentoring in Physics and Chemistry. Nevertheless, from the above results and the tributes paid by the EUCLID alumni this institute seems to be a good place in Bhubaneswar to get coached in Mathematics at the plus 2 level.
February 10th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from his speech transcript in Business Standard.
It is in this dreary world of higher education in India that we have shining examples, such as St Xavier’s College. It was founded by the Society of Jesus. Long before Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Dr Zakir Hussain, Dr Humayun Kabir and my good friend Shri Kapil Sibal, there was an intrepid soul named Fr H Depelchin. Along with six Belgian Jesuits, he arrived in Kolkata and founded the St Xavier’s College.
The college has been in the service of the nation for 150 years. Not only in Kolkata, but in many other parts of India, the Society of Jesus has rendered yeoman service to the cause of education. Its 153 high schools, 38 university colleges, 14 technical institutes and five business administration institutes teach, at any given time, over 230,000 students belonging to every section of the society. St Xavier’s alone has over 4,000 students.
Like every Jesuit educational institution, St Xavier’s College has an admission policy that is biased in favour of the poor, especially the socially and financially marginalised, and I commend the college on its sense of social responsibility. We are beholden to the Jesuits for the unwavering dedication, the sense of duty, and the strict discipline they bring to their work and to the institutions founded by them.
I passed through a Jesuit institution and I fondly remember the great teachers: Fr Murphy, Fr Sequira, Fr Coyle, Fr Lawrence Sundaram, Fr Amascua and Fr Yedanapally. It surprises me even today how so many of them could leave such an indelible impression in a period of barely one year.
We are still debating the norms and values that must prevail in an institution of higher learning, and especially the place of the non-government sector in providing higher education. I recognise and support the role of the private sector in higher education, but I am absolutely clear in my mind that the private sector in higher education ought not to mean private business in higher education. As far as I am aware, no great university in the world was established for the purpose of profit. I believe that some activities in a society must stand outside the world of profit and higher education, in my view, ranks first amongst such activities.
For over 150 years, the Society of Jesus has done just that in Kolkata, in Chennai and in many other towns and cities. For that and for many other blessings that they brought to India, we thank them and we salute them.
(Excerpts from Home Minister P Chidambaram’s valedictory address at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) in Kolkata on January 17, 2010)
The above is very relevant to the proposal of a Xavier University in Odisha. The Odisha government should expedite that proposal.
February 7th, 2010
There are 48 manuscript resource centres and 33 manuscript conservation centres in India. The list is given at http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=57547. The ones in Odisha are as follows:
Two manuscript resource centers:
|
32
|
Orissa State Museum Museum Building, BhubaneswarOrissa
|
|
|
|
33
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Sanskrit Academy of Research for Advanced Society Through Vedic & Allied Tradition of India (SARASVATI),Sarasvati Vihar, Barpada, Bhadrak – 756 113 Orissa.
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Three manuscript conservation centers:
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23
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INTACH ICI Orissa Art Conservation Centre, Orissa StateMuseum Premises Bhubaneswar – Orissa-751 014
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24
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AITIHYA Plot No. 4/330, 1st Floor, Raghunathpur, P.O.Sisupala Gada (Near Gangua Bridge, Puri Road), Bhubaneswar-2 Orissa
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25
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Sambalpur University Library Sambalpur University Burla – 768001
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February 6th, 2010
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