Some National Institutions/Universities and their locations; planning for the future in Orissa

Tathya.in has a report that mentions some official saying that because of the lack of an airport in Rourkela central government will not agree to have ESIC medical college in Rourkela. I think this is a completely frivolous argument; I don’t see much connection between an ESIC medical college and an airport. (Often airport is a codeword for adequate infrastructure. If that is the case Rourkela indeed has the infrastructure for an ESIC medical college.)

However, in regards to certain centrally funded institutions, such a requirement is in the background and mentioned by journalists, even if they may not be spelled out explicitly. So while pushing for an ESIC medical college in Rourkela, we should set our target to push for more functioning airports as a next action item. Following is a more detailed analysis.

Given below are the locations of some national institutions and some related attributes. It is easy to see that for the locations of IITs, IIMs and National Universities being near (say within 120 kms or 2 hrs) an operational airport has been an important factor. For national universities, in addition being in a large (1 million plus metropolitan area) area with other research institutes has also been spelled out as an important criteria and it is reflected in the locations that are picked.  

On the other hand, the newly established central universities are in towns of all sizes and the locations of the NITs are mixed. The next level centrally funded but locally focused technological institutes, SLIET, Longowal, ABAGKC IET, Malda and Central Institute of Technology, Kokrajhar are on purpose established in rural areas and smaller towns. Unlike the NITs these institutions take only local students and also have programs focused on local needs. Nevertheless, their quality need not be bad. For example, SLIET is considered quite good.

Looking to the future following are some points relevant to Orissa.

• For Orissa to have future central institutions like IIM, SPA, etc. to be in a location outside of Bhubaneswar, Orissa must push for the quick establishment of airports and other infrastructure in other parts of the state. For example, the airports in Jharsuguda and Rourkela are the closest to be operational and they should  have scheduled flights at the earliest. Otherwise new centrally funded institutions may again be established near Bhubaneswar and crying hoarse after the fact may not be productive.
• Similarly the knowledge commission has proposed the establishment of 50 national universities in the long run. Considering that the education budget significantly increases from one 5 yr plan to the next, I would not be surprised if there is another set of them made during the 12th plan. Orissa must be prepared for that and by that time (there is a short window) have other areas in Orissa with adequate infrastructure that are being deemed necessary for a national university.
• Orissa must take advantage of the industrial and investment interests in Orissa, mostly due to its minerals, and develop metropolitan areas with larger population base. Currently the local people are creating roadblocks rather than helping in such development.
• In 2010 we should do our best to convince the planning commission, the PM and MHRD that the 12th plan (starting 2012) should include more centrally funded institutions of the kind that can be located in rural or semi-urban areas. In particular,
  • A centrally funded but locally focused technological institute (like SLIET) in all states. The one in Orissa could be located in Kalahandi or Balangir, the other two KBK districts that lack centrally funded institutions.
  • Two regional universities in each major states that are funded 50-50 by the state and the center. (This would be better than one centrally funded institute.)
  • Multiple branches of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in districts with high tribal population.
     

The NITs.

The IITs. 

National Universities

New Central Universities

IIMs

Add comment October 4th, 2009

Rourkela citizens make organized effort to get ESIC medical college

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

The Orissa unit of CITU with support from mainstream political parties has renewed the demand to set up the proposed medical college and hospital (MCH) of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) at Rourkela. An action committee formed today at an all-party meeting resolved to put pressure on the State Government to pave way for locating the MCH at Rourkela having high concentration of ESIC insured persons (IPs).

… Led by Orissa unit CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty, the meeting pointed out that of the 2.4 lakh IPs across Orissa, the industrial and mining district of Sundargarh along with adjacent Keonjhar, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts account for 1.4 lakh IPs. Hence, there is no justification in locating the MCH in Bhubaneswar which has a number of MCHs and super specialty hospitals, the meeting observed.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Resentment is growing among the Rourkelites, with the Government’s decision of setting up an ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Bhubaneswar. Irrespective of party affiliations, a forum has come up to pursue Naveen Patnaik to relocate the ESIC Medical College here.

On this issue, an all-party meeting was convened in the district committee office of CITU on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Rourkela Press Club president Muralidhar Parija. Among others, CITU State general secretary Bishnu Mohanty, former Rourkela Congress MLA Pravat Mohapatra, Rourkela BJD president Ananda Mohanty, former Rourkela Municipal chairman and president Rourkela Bar Association Ramesh Bal, CPI(M) Sundargarh district committee secretary Banamali Dhupal, CITU leaders Biman Maity, Jahangir Ali, CPI leaders Pravat Mishra, Pradyosh Mohanty, SK Chakraborty, HMS leader Arun Parida, senior journalist AP Biswal spoke on the occasion and expressed their solidarity in their demand for ESIC Hospital.

Following is from Samaja. (Thanks to http://www.odiasamaja.org/ for the pointer.)

Following is from Dharitri. (Thanks to http://www.odiasamaja.org/ for the pointer.)

Following is from Dainik Bhaskar. (Thanks to http://www.odiasamaja.org/ for the pointer.)

Add comment October 2nd, 2009

Sundergarh MP and Labour Committee Chair Hemananda Biswal goes to Delhi to bat for ESIC Medical College in Rourkela

Update on Oct 1 2009: Pioneer has a nice article on the ESIC Medical College in Rourkela theme.

Following appeared in Sambada. Thanks to http://www.odiasamaja.org for the image.

See http://www.odiasamaja.org/esic-medical-college-rkl-press-conference-report/ for a press conference that happened yesterday. Some of us participated by phone.

2 comments September 30th, 2009

NIT Rourkela must follow NIT Warangal and go for a medical school and law school

Following is an excerpt from an IANS story by Prashant Nanda that we found in a report in thaiinidan.com.

… “We will retain our original name (NIT-Warangal) but it will become an integrated university with both medical and legal education among other programmes beyond engineering and technology.

“We will also provide postgraduate courses in humanities, business economics, biotechnology and many others. The focus will gradually shift to from under-graduation to post-graduation and research,” Rao explained.

NIT Warangal is the first among the NITs. It was dedicated to the nation by the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1959. Then it was known a regional engineering college. The institute is older than many IITs, including IIT-Delhi.

… The director said the institute, which started its journey with a little over 100 students from a temporary campus, now boasts of 4,200 students. In 2006, the institute had 2,000 students of which 1,600 were pursuing B.Tech courses and the rest M.Tech.

“While all the central government institutes are implementing the OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota in three years, we did it at one go. With an increase in the number of seats, we have shifted our focus to post-graduation and research. Out of 4,200 students, currently 1,400 are M.Tech students and 300 are PhD scholars,” Rao added.

Like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, NIT-Warangal will become an integrated university and provide all kinds of courses to students to help the country move forward in the field of higher education, he said.

“The process of becoming a university will start from the coming academic session but it may take a few years to become a full-fledged one. We are targeting 5,000 students by 2011 and 15,000 by 2015,” Rao said, elaborating on his mega plan.

“We are planning to have the school of medical science next year. We are going to give emphasis on biotechnology and microbiology and here the school of medical science will help us grow in both research and innovation.”

NIT Roukela has recently started a program in Biotechnology and is about to start MBA. But it must go beyond and pursue a medical school. 

3 comments September 29th, 2009

Orissa should push for a Central University in the Western part of Orissa to be included in the 12th plan

Pioneer reports on a letter written by Sanjib Karmee about establishing a central university in the Western part of Orissa. Following are some excerpts.

.. One such letter written to the Prime Minister, President and other top political leaders of the country including one to the Chief Minister of Orissa and members of Parliament, by Dr Sanjib Kumar Karmee of Bio-catalysis and Organic Chemistry group of the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, has made a fervent appeal to the powers that be to open a Central University in the Koshal region.

He has appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Human Resources and other Central Government ministries in the establishment of many centrally funded institutions in Orissa keeping the backwardness of the State in mind.

He has cited that the current Government of the State is adopting a capital centric approach, clustering Bhubaneswar with National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Railway Medical College.

The State Government has chosen only two such centrally funded institutes outside Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri region of having a Central University at Koraput in south Orissa and a proposal to set-up the Indian Institute of Information Technology in Berhampur which is also in south Orissa.

Koshal region he writes is one of the most backward regions in Orissa, and has demanded the establishment of centrally funded institutes in Koshal region. At the same time he writes about the connectivity and amenities of the region which has infrastructural readiness to have a Central University, besides he says the region has two universities – Sambalpur University and VSS University of Technology – a Government Medical College, and a few private engineering colleges. Rourkela city which is close to Burla-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area has a National Institute of Technology at Rourkela. On connectivity he writes there is a proposal by the Government of India to have an airport at Jharsuguda and further that Jharsuguda is well connected by rail to the various States in India. Burla-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area is emerging as a central location for on going industrial activities in the region.

Since MHRD is very serious about increasing the GER, I think the 12th plan would include some more central universities (or at the worst case universities that are funded 50-50 by center and state). Also, as I mentioned earlier, many states have regions which have been left out of the national university (mostly went to the state capital or the 1st or 2nd most populated metro area of the bigger states; but all went to metro areas with a population of greater than 1 million; the obvious reason seems to be the vision behind these universities as stated in the first announcement as well as in the concept papers) and first central university distributions (many went to smaller places of the states), and they would like to have a central university/institution. This includes Nagpur in Maharastra, Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur/Asansol/Siliguri in West Bengal, Bhawanipatna/Jharsuguda/Rourkela in Orissa etc.

In Orissa, after CUO Koraput and national university in Bhubaneswar, the government should strongly consider a location in its Western part (and far from Bhubaneswar) for that. Among the possible locations, a sentimental favorite would be Bhawanipatna, as it has been reported that at one point the CM had assured the representatives from Kalahandi regarding locating the first central university there. Other good locations could be Rourkela (a bit in the corner though; but is a metro and has a sizable population and does not have a regular university; it does have NIT) and Jharsuguda (lots of industrial development happening here, not too far from Rourkela, but close to Sambalpur which has two universities; But Jharsuguda itself has nothing and is going to have an airport soon).

3 comments September 24th, 2009

Land for ESI medical college has been alloted at Bharatpur near IMA in Bhubaneswar. What Next? How to go about getting an ESI medical college to Rourkela?

Following is from Samaja.

Sambada pinpoints the location as "near Institute of Mathematics & Applications."

Overall the only new part here is the exact location of the land as when we started our campaign for ESIC medical college in Rourkela (in the end of August) we already knew  that land had been allocated in Bhubaneswar. 

So what do we do now?

Following are my suggestions.

1. We need to continue pushing our case through emails, faxes, letter writing campaigns, ground level actions etc.
2. We need to get the MLAs from the Rourkela area involved. They need to meet the CM and make the demands. Alternatively or in addition some civil society group needs to get an appointment with the CM and convey the demand for an ESI medical college in Rourkela.
3. The MLAs around Rourkela and email/phone of some of them that I could find are:
   1. Rourkela – Sarada Nayak (BJD) sarada59@rediffmail.com
   2. Biramitrapur – George Tirkey (Independent) 0674-403599; 0661-643282
   3. Raghunathpali – Subrat Tarai (BJD)
   4. Rajgangpur – Gregory Minz (Congress)
   5. Bonai – Bhimsen Choudhury (BJP)
   6. Sundergarh – Jogesh Singh (Congress)
   7. Talsara – Dr. Prafulla Majhi (Congress)
   8. Kuchinda – Rajendra Chhatria (Congress)

   The MP and ex-MP who can also meet the CM are:

   1. Hemanada Biswal – 09937350289
   2. Jual Oram – jualoram@rediffmail.com, jualoram@hotmail.com
4. When these groups meet the CM they also need to have alternative proposals and an alternative set of demands. (This is in case the CM’s first response is that the land has been allotted and it can not be shifted at this stage.) Shifting of location once announced is extremely difficulty and a political hot potato. That is because if something is shifted from location A to B there will be people in A who will complain and no politician would want to do this. When A is Bhubaneswar it is even harder. (I also think that demanding shifting is not a good idea unless it is done by people of A. That is because it unnecessarily pits people of A against people of B.  We on purpose never did it in case of NISER or IIT and as a result received political support from MPs and journalists of other states.)
5. However, asking for an ESI medical college in Rourkela does not necessarily mean shifting the one announced in Bhubaneswar. The people meeting the CM, and at some point in our campaign, we should more forcefully point out that in other states in addition to the undergraduate medical college of ESI, 1 or more other locations will have post-graduate courses and in Karnataka there will be two ESI medical colleges. If we are able to convince this to our CM and if he demands to the center that ESI establish another medical college in Rourkela or at least PG teaching at its hospital in and around Rourkela then the chances of success are much high. But this need not be done now. We may continue with our current approach (with less badmouthing of Bhubaneswar) for some time. In this I suggest the approach and tone in here rather than the tone in the petition.
6. Whether it is demanding something from the center or getting something for a region in Orissa, getting the CM on our side is most important. From past experience the best approach for getting something for a region in Orissa has been for a delegation of MLAs to meet the CM. Hence the list of MLAs above.
7. With respect to fighting for Rourkela this should be just a beginning. The MLA delegation when they meet the CM should also ask the CM for
   1. a general state university and
   2. to push SAIL to establish a medical college and a engineering college, as it is doing in Bokaro. There are some technical hurdles but effort is on to overcome them. SAIL is up for its mine renewal in Orissa. See here and here. So this is the right time to do it. If SAIL Bokaro can make a medical college in Bokaro why can not SAIL Rourkela in Rourkela.
   3. These could be the alternative proposals that the delegation can propose to the CM.

10 comments September 20th, 2009

Thinking ahead to the 12th plan that starts from 2012 – Regional Universities, National and Regional Libraries, and Rural Sc. and Tech. Institutes

The duration of the 11th plan is from 2007-2012. We are now in 2009 and very soon 2012 will be looming. My guess is that the planning commission may already be in its preparatory stage to start planning for 2012. Considering that one of the big focus of this government is to increase the GER (gross enrollment ratio) in higher education from 12.4% to 30% by 2020, the 12th plan will also pay significant attention to higher education. The national knowlede commission has also recommended that  India have up to 50 national universities and 1500 universities. With that in mind, following is part of something that I wrote to Prof. Yash Pal (and copied to to Sam Pitroda) in June as a response to Prof. Yash Pal’s draft. (Prof Yash Pal replied back saying: "I thank you for your excellent and concerned suggestions. I have shared them with some of my colleagues. I am sure they would be taken up by some of them. Our report will be submitted in a week. Then will start another phase. Many of these will keep reverberating. Thank you again.")

ii) Regional Universities with 50-50 split between state and the center:

The Central government now has central universities and is proposing 14 national universities. In these universities the students are and will be from across the country and the universities will be funded 100% by the central government, except land being given by the state.

As you have noted some of the centrally managed universities and institutes (IITs, etc.) have a good structure and are doing the best.

As a way to transfer this first-hand to the states I propose the establishment of “Regional Universities” which are funded 50-50 by the state and the center and the students are 50-50 between the state and the rest of the country. This will be similar to the structure of the erstwhile “Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs)”, which have now been transformed to NITs. The original RECs were funded 50-50 by the state and center and had 50-50 students from the state and the rest of the country. The NITs are funded 100% by the center.

Eventually the regional universities may be funded 100% by the center. This idea has many benefits:

(a)    The direct collaboration between a state and the center helps in the transfer of know-how of how to develop and manage a good university.

(b)   It costs less for the center to create another 30-40 good universities, as the cost is shared 50-50.

(c) It helps develop additional knowledge centers in the states. (Most RECs were established in second rung cities in their respective states. REC/NIT in Orissa is in Rourkela, in Tamil Nadu it is in Trichy, in Maharashtra it is in Nagpur, in Karnataka it is in Surathkal, in West Bengal it is in Durgapur, etc.)

I think this is something feasible and should be pushed with the planning commission. Even with the new central universities and national universities many states have large metropolitan areas that  did not get one and are in need of a good (at least partially) centrally funded institution and university. That gap can be filled with the above proposed regional universities. In Orissa possible location of such a regional university could be Rourkela or Jharsuguda.

The proposed national universities also had stringent criteria attached to them, which made it difficult to distribute them. For example, the PIB announcing them said:

As regards 14 Central Universities aiming at world class standards, it has been considered necessary that these are located in or near selected large cities which would automatically have the kind of connectivity and infrastructure which such universities would need.

Earlier reports mentioned prime locations being an important factor and gave an example criteria of what they meant by a prime location. They cited proximity to CSIR labs.

Like the erstwhile RECs, the proposed regional universities need not have such stringent conditions allowing them to be located in places like Durgapur, Kadapa, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, etc.

Another item that I had in my mail to Prof. Yash Pal, which should be pushed for the 12th plan is as follows:

(vi) University and local communities; National and regional libraries:

I think a good library should be an integral component of each of the universities. Currently the libraries in most universities and colleges in India are pathetic. While the libraries are improved it should also mandate that a big part of the library materials, should be available for browsing for common folks who are not necessarily enrolled in the university. In the US any one can walk into a university library, be it Berkeley (a state university) or Stanford (a private university). I am not sure if that is the case with respect to the universities and colleges in India.

While we are discussing libraries, like central universities and national universities, the Indian government should establish a national library in each state capital (100% funded by the central govt.), and a regional library (funded 50-50 by the state and the central govt.) in another city of a state. In 5-10 years there should be good libraries in each district and in 10-15 years in each block. (When I walk into the local library in the US, I envy not growing up in the US and recall having to beg my local book store in a cabin near my house in Bhubaneswar to lend me translations of the world literature book series. I could not afford to buy them. Nor did my school have them.)

A new item that I have mentioned once in a while and that can be genarlized for the 12th plan is to establish centrally funded rural technological institutes like SLIET (Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology) in Punjab and the recently proposed ABA Ghani Khan Choudhary Institute of Engineering and Technology in West Bengal, in each of the other major states of the country. In Orissa, Balangir and Kalahandi (Bhawanipatna) are good possible locations for this. (Orissa should aim for having a centrally funded institute in each of the undivided KBK+Kandhamal districts.) Although centrally funded, these institutes are different from the NITs. The PIB release in the context of ABA GKC IET says the following:

The Institution will offer courses in Engineering and Technology to cater to the various manpower requirements of the region, with special emphasis on courses relevant to the local population such as in food technology & sericulture.

Initially, the Institution would start with Certificate level courses leading to Diploma, Degree and Post-graduate levels later.

The total project outlay of the Institute will be around Rs. 97 crores.

Dear Readers: Please suggest your thoughts and ideas on the 12th plan. Even if your main interest is about your home town, think of a way to put it in national terms.

4 comments September 14th, 2009

Movement to bring ESIC Medical College to Rourkela

September 19, 2009: Nice coverage in Khabara; From http://www.odiasamaja.org/wp-content/uploads/esi.jpg.

September 12-13, 2009: My friend Purna Mishra has written another nice email to the CM and MP Mr. Khuntia. Following is his letter.

Dear Esteemed Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik and Member of Parliament Mr. Khuntia,

From what I hear you both have been working at the opportunity to bring the ESI Medical College to Rourkela and get it funded at the earliest. I thank you for your vision and desire to make Orissa one of the leading states.

Even states with fewer employees in their ESI pool have already started the construction project (e.g., Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, etc.). Since the employees pay for their medical care, ESI is going to establish a medical college in Orissa as this is the ESI mandate.

In my last email, I mentioned a few benefits it would bring if this medical college is established in Rourkela. I found a much bigger benefit to Orissa if this medical college is established in Rourkela. The Phase-I construction cost alone is close to 500 crores. These are the cost of tenders over the last couple of years for the following ESI medical colleges:

1. Patna: 520 Crores
2. New Delhi: 617.87 Crores
3. Bangalore: 490 Crores
4. Dental Medical College, Mumbai: 158 Crores

The tenders for Kerala, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh will be at least 450 crores each.

In this down economy where the central and state governments are giving incentives for private and public investments in local economy, let us see how an cash investment of 500+ crores in construction alone over a 2 year period will jump start the economy of north western Orissa. As most of the economists agree, the investment in construction sector brings the most help for local economy. Last time Rourkela received a serious investment was during the modernization drive where a capitalization of 5000 crores for expansion was made. But most of this investment were spent in acquiring
machineries and did not bring any direct investment to support the local economy. Even the second modernization scheme announced in 2005 for RSP was only 350 crores and again most of that investment was made to acquire
machineries. This will be for the first time in several decades that Rourkela and the north western Orissa would be receiving a investment of 500+ crores in local economy. Please do your best to bring this jumbo sized investment at your earliest. In this down economy this jumbo investment will jump start the local economic growth engine.

We need to build another city in Orissa that could complement Bhubaneswar as we make Orissa one of the leading states in India. The only other city that has this potential at this time is Rourkela.

The people of Orissa who will immensely benefit and will be eternally thankful for you standing up to the ESI babus and do what is right for Orissa.

With my best regards,

– Purna

September 11, 2009: Today’s Pioneer has a long article on this. (Thanks to Prashant Sahoo for the pointer.) Looks like a lot of organizations in Rourkela are now involved. But we should not rest easy until the demand is met. Following is an excerpt from that article.

It is learnt from sources that people from different walks of life have been sending e-mails to the Orissa Chief Minister requesting him to consider the relocation of the proposed ESIC Medical College. In the latest development, many Non-Resident Oriyas (NROs) are not only writing e-mails to the CM but also they are in regular touch with various civil society organisations of Rourkela to strengthen the drive into a people’s movement.

Many retired and working professors of NIT and other leading educational institutions of Rourkela like Prof Somanath Mishra, Prof SK Patel, Prof KC Patra, Prof DM Praharaj, Prof P Panda, Prof P Mallick and many others have come out openly to write letters to the CM along with pursuing others to join the movement. Even they have urged the people’s representatives of the district to take up the matter with the CM. Similarly, many civil society organisations like Disha, Envicare, Visstar, Ores, Cause, Sahayata, Basti Unnayan Samiti and many other groups have joined this drive.

Unlike others, many journalists like Pratap Padhee, Subrat Choudhury, Aurobinda Das, Sanjib Nayak, Mahendra Mishra, AP Biswal, KP Mohapatra and writers and columnists like Narayan Prasad Dash, Bhupen Mohapatra, Debendra Mohanty, KC Badjena, Bishnupriya Mohapatra and Arta Trana Mohapatra have also joined the drive. Similarly, many trade unions like RMS, SETU, RSS, SEAR, KISS, ILU, RWU, SMS and students’ organisations like SFI, AISF, ABVP, DSO and NSUI have also started campaign on their respective level. Even many student leaders have started signature campaign in their respective campuses.

September 10, 2009:

Dear all:

Following is an update on the efforts towards bringing ESIC Medical College to Rourkela.

• Lots of emails have been sent to the CM’s office.
• Among the media, Tathya.in and Pioneer have covered it.
• The email campaign is active in several groups. (myodisa, ornet, agamiorissa, nis-iiser etc.)
• An explicit yahoo group Rourkela Forum has been formed. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rourkelaforum/
• An e-petition has been created http://www.petitiononline.com/ESI4RKLA/petition.html.
• MP Ram Khuntia has been contacted by phone and email.
• To avoid this topic to get buried under other newer topics in Orissalinks, I have put it in the scrolling bar as well as put it prominently in red in the right hand side bar towards the top. Clicking any of those links will bring it to this article and people can comment on it. Instead of creating new posts I will just update this post.
• Members of Myodisa are in the process of sending a memorandum to the CM.
• Orissa Society of the Americas is also in the process of sending a memorandum to the CM.

Next Steps:

• Continue emails, faxes, letters.
• Get more and more people to join the movement and join the Rourkela Forum yahoo group.
• Do some ground action in Rourkela.
• Contact MP Hemanada Biswal as soon as possible.
• Get more media coverage.

15 comments September 10th, 2009

Purna Mishra’s well-argued appeal to the CM about establishing ESIC medical college in Rourkela

Dear Esteemed Chief Minister Mr. Patnaik and Member of Parliament Mr. Khuntia,

I am writing this note to plead before you the need to have the ESI medical college in Rourkela. ESI administration has made an easy decision and you both know from your long public career that easy decisions are not always the best decisions. If we look at the existing ESI medical colleges there are many which are not locate in the state capital. The decision in the last 2-3 years to have the ESI medical College in Himachal Pradesh to be located in Mandi (150 km from Shimla) could be a basis for arguing why this ESI medical college for Orissa could not be located in Rourklela?

Here are the reasons I believe why thi ESI medical should be located in Rourkela instead of Bhubaneswar:

1. Orissa has close to 50+ ESI medical clinics and a half dozen or so medical hospitals. These ESI clinics are the Tier-III medical facilities where the patients go initially for the consultation. Based on the severity of their cases, they are referred to the Tier-II ESI medical hospitals. Most  of these Tier-II ESI medical hospitals are located closer to Rourkela than Bhubaneswar. Based on the numbers of members and their usage pattern, one could easily see most of these members live in places closer to Rourkela
than Bhubaneswar.

2. When these ESI members travel to these medical hospitals, the out of pocket allowance they receive from ESI is meager. So it would be an additional hardship for these members to travel to Bhubaneswar at a greater distance and a costlier city for specialty medical care.

3. Since most of the Tier-II medical facilities are located closer to Rourkela, it would be a boon for the ESI doctors working in these hospitals to get additional training and the patients could be referred for additional diagnostics (CAT scan, MRI scan, Ultrasound, advanced blood works) and thus improving the decision making if the medical college to be located closer to the existing hospitals.

4. Most of these members live in the geographical segment of Orissa that is under the evil grip of the growing Sickle Cell disease and cerebral malaria. Both these medical challenges require quick access to specialty medical care which could be provided if these patients travel to the specialty medical closer to their home which again makes Rourkela a more ideal location.

5. ESI would be spending 600 crores to build and run this medical college. Orissa should not lose this investment. Also 50% of the seats would be reserved for students from the domiciled state which would again benefit our children if we get this medical college in Orissa.

6. The state has to give a contiguous cluster of 35 acres of land for this ESI medical college at no cost to ESI. This kind of land would cost close to at least 10 crores an acre in Bhubaneswar whereas it would cost no more than a crore in Rourkela. From a pure selfish perspective, why not we give 35 crores (35 acres in Rourkela) rather than 350 crores (35 acres in Bhubaneswar) to get this investment of 600 crores from ESI.

We are looking up to you to work across the party lines to get this beneficial scheme for Orissa. To have this medical college in Rourkela would significantly improve the health of the growing workforce and thus bring in additional investments for Orissa. We know you both could make this happen and the ESI members would be eternally thankful to you for your leadership.

With my best regards,

Purna
ps – Originally from Bhubaneswar but currently lives in North America

1 comment September 6th, 2009

Engineering College Clusters in Orissa in 2009

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri area:

1. Ajay Binay Institute of Technology Cuttack (ABT) Pvt.
2. Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mouza: Barakuda, Post Panchagoan, Bhubaneswar-752 050
3. Apex Institute of Technology & Management, Pahal Bhubaneshwar (APT) Pvt.
4. Bhubaneswar Engineering College Khurda (BEC) Pvt.
5. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology, Plot No 4, Village Harapur, Khurda, Pin- 752 054
6. BRM International Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (BII) Pvt.
7. C. V. Raman College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CVR) Pvt.
8. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology Bhubaneswar (CPT) Govt.
9. Centurian Institute of Technology Khurda (CIK) Pvt.
10. College of Engineering & Technology Bhubaneswar (CET) Govt.
11. College of Engineering Bhubaneswar Bhubaneshwar (CEB) Pvt.
12. Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies Tangi, Cuttack (DRM) Pvt.
13. Eastern Academy of Science & Technology Phulnakhara, Khurda (EAS) Pvt.
14. Einstien Academy of Tech. & Management (EATAM) Bania Tangi Bhubaneswar
15. Eklavya College of Tech., and Sci., At Kusumati PO Jatni Bhubaneswar Khurda
16. Gandhi Engineering College Bhubaneswar (GEC) Pvt.
17. Gandhi Institute for Education & Technology, At Banlatangi, P.O. Bajpur, Dist : Khurda-752060
18. Gandhi Institute for Technology Bhubaneswar (GIF) Pvt.
19. Gandhi Institute of Technological Advancement Badaraghunathpur, Bhubaneswar (GIB) Pvt.
20. Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (GIK) Pvt.
21. Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology & Management Chhaitana Puri (GHT) Pvt.
22. Gurukula College of Engineering for Women (GCEM) At- Jamuhari Chhatabar, Bhubaneshwar Dist- Khurda Odisha
23. Gurukul Institute of Technology,Janla Bhubaneswar (GKT) Pvt.
24. Hi-Tech College of Engineering, Rasulghar, Pandara Bhubaneswar
25. Hi-Tech Institute of Technology Khurda (HIT) Pvt.
26. Indic Institute of Design & Research Khurda (IID) Pvt.
27. Indotech College of Engineering, Plot No. 144, AT/PO Mallipada, Via Pallahat(Khurda-2) Dist-khurda,Orissa-752056
28. Indus College of Engg. Bhubaneswar (IDU) Pvt.
29. Jagannath Institute of Engineering & Technology Cuttack (JIC) Pvt.
30. KMBB College of Engineering and Technology AT-Daleiput, PO-Talahat Dist. Khurda,Orissa
31. Konark Institute of Science & Technology Jatni,Bhubaneswar (KIS) Pvt.
32. Koustav Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (KIT) Pvt.
33. Koustuva Institute of Self Domain (for Women) Bhubaneswar (KID) Pvt.
34. Krupajala Engineering College Pubasasan, Bhubaneswar (KEC) Pvt.
35. Maharaja Institute of Technology,Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (MIK) Pvt.
36. Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology Paniora, Bhubaneswar (MIB) Pvt.
37. Modern Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (MIM) Pvt.
38. Nalanda Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (NIT) Pvt.
39. Nigam Institute of engineering and Technology, Barang,Cuttack
40. NM Institute of Engineering & Technology Sijua, Bhubaneswar (NMI) Pvt.
41. Orissa Engineering College Nijigarhkurki, Bhubaneswar (OEC) Pvt.
42. Oxford College of Engineering and Management ,Ramachandrapur, Bhubaneswar (OCM) Pvt.
43. Rajdhani Engineering College Bhubaneswar (REC) Pvt.
44. Shibani Institute of Technical Education , At-PO-Chhatabar,Via, Hanla, Bhubaneswar – 752054, Khurda, Orissa
45. Silicon Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (SIT) Pvt.
46. Sophitorium Engineering College, Baniatangi, Khurda
    
47. Spintronic Tech. & Advance Resarch At.Po Taraboi P.S. Jatani Dist Khurda, Orissa
48. Subas Institute of Technology Gyana Vihar, Barang, Bhubaneswar 754 005 Orissa
49. Suddhananda Engg. & Research Centre, Phulnakhara Cuttack At Anchhipur P.O. Bhatapatna Orissa
50. Synergy Institute of Technology, At : Bhimpur,P.O. Jagannathpur, P.S. Balianta, Dist:Khurda, Orissa
51. TempleCity Institute of Technology & Engineering Khurda (TCT) Pvt.
52. The Techno School Bhubaneswar (TTS) Pvt.
53. Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar (TAT) Pvt.
54. Vedang Institute of Technology, Durga Prasad, P.O. Ramachandi, Dist. Khurda, Orissa
55. VITS Engineering College, Tangi, Khurda (VTK) Pvt.
56. Vivekananda Inst. Of Tech., at Chhatabar Dandi, Chaatabar, Orissa
57. Xavier Institute of Tech., Princess Avencue Ghangapatna Bhubaneswar Dist Khurda Orissa
58. Agricultural Engineering at OUAT, Bhubaneswar
59. KIIT Bhubaneswar
60. ITER Bhubaneswar
61. IIIT Bhubaneswar
62. IIT Bhubaneswar

Berhampur:

1. Gandhi Academy of Tech. & Engineering At/PO Golonthara Konisi, Berhampur, Dist Ganjam Orissa
2. Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
3. Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
4. National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
5. Parla Maharaj Engineering College
6. Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology Thatadapalli Village, Kotharsing (P.O.) Konisi Tahasil, Berhampur, Ganjam (D. T.) Orissa
7. Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
8. Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
9. Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
10. IIIT Berhampur (planned)

Balasore-Bhadrakh:

1. Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
2. Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
3. Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
4. Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
5. Srinix College of Engineering College At-Ranipatna, Dist Balasore-750001 .
6. Vijayanjali Institute of Technology At Gadabhanga No. 4 P.O. Khantapara, District : Balasore 756043 Orissa

Sambalpur-Baragarh-Jharsuguda-Sundergarh:

1. Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
2. Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
3. Vikash College of Engineering for Women (VCEW) plot No. 2766, P.S. Dist- Baragarh, Odisha
4. VSSUT Burla (UCE) Govt.
5. Silicon Institute of Technology, Sason, Sambalpur -763 200, Orissa.
6. Sundargarh Engineering College, Sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.

Rourkela:

1. Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
2. Purushottam Institute of Engineering & Technology Mandiakudar, Rourkela (PIE) Pvt.
3. NIT Rourkela
4. Rourkela Institute of Technology At P.O. Kuarmunda, District : Sundergarh Pin 770039 Orissa (planned)

Gunupur-Rayagada:

1. Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
2. Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
3. Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
4. Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.

Angul-Talcher-Dhenkanal:

1. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
2. Adarsha College of Engineering At Saradhapur, P.O. Kumurisingha Dist : Angul, Pin 759122 Orissa
3. Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology Dhenkanal (SYN) Pvt.

Koraput-Jeypore:

1. Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
2. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.

Others:

1. Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
2. Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
3. Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
4. Government Engineering College, Kalahandi
5. Paradeep Port Engineering College (planned)

13 comments September 3rd, 2009

Appeal to CM Naveen Patnaik: Please pursue ESIC medical college near Rourkela

Update 2: Sundergarh MP Mr. Hemanada Biswal is now the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Labour. ESIC comes under the Labour ministry. So getting in touch with Mr. Biswal will also help. His MP biography is at http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/Biography.aspx?mpsno=4416.

Update: Please also copy your mail to rckhuntia@gmail.com and rckhuntia007@yahoo.co.in.

Dear all: It is time to translate words to action. Please send similar letters to the Chief Minister ( cmo at ori.nic.in ) with copy to some journalists (for example, http://www.tathya.in/2009/contactus.asp ), laborweb@nic.in, and jd-sys@esic.nic.in. Please ask your like minded friends to do the same. When you write the letter, please sign your name and give your address, especially your address in Orissa.

Dear Esteemed Chief Minister:

We would like to request that you urgently allocate the necessary 32 acres of land for an ESIC medical college in Rourkela and vigorously pursue with the ESIC authorities for the establishment of the same in Rourkela.

[We applaud your earlier attempt in pursuing an ESIC medical college in Balangir and understand that ESIC did not agree to it as it does not have enough ESIC insured persons in the Balangir area. We request that you pursue other ways of having a medical college in Balangir and also pursue other infrastructural elements for Balangir such as a state university, a state/central funded engineering college like SLIET (Punjab) and ABA GKC IET (West Bengal) and the Khurda-Balangir line. ]

Coming back to ESIC medical college, Rourkela is the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa.  Unfortunately, it is also the largest metropolitan area of its size in the country which does not have a medical college. (It is also the largest metropolitan area of the country which does not have a regular university.) On the other hand Rourkela is the current industrial hub of Orissa and has a significant number of ESIC insured persons. This is evident from the fact that the only ESIC model hospital in Orissa is in Rourkela. Moreover, another ESIC hospital is in nearby Kansbahal and an ESIC annex is in nearby Rajgangpur. The complete list of ESIC hospitals in Orissa is at http://esicorissa.org/hospital.htm. Moreover recent newspaper reports (Statesman 5th March 2009, Naxatra News) mention that the ESIC authorities are agreeable for having an ESIC medical college in Rourkela. Following is the news report.

Rourkela, March 4: The Orissa Unit of the CITU has urged the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) authorities at New Delhi to establish a medical college at Rourkela.

A delegation of CITU leaders led by its state unit general secretary Mr Bishnu Mohanty met the Director, ESIC, Mr S Chaturbedi at New Delhi yesterday and pleaded for establishment of an ESIC Medical College stating that over 50 per cent of the total revenue was generated from Rourkela.

A large number of small and medium industries were located in Western Orissa and thousands of workers were contributing and dependent on ESIC, they said.

According to Mr Mohanty, the ESIC director had agreed to the proposal and said if the state government provided 32 acre his organisation would spent about Rs 500 crores for the establishment of a medical college.

Dear Sir:

In summary, Rourkela has the need, the necessary ESIC insured persons concentration, and ESIC is agreeable to an ESI medical college there. All that is needed is for you to immediately allocate 32 acres of land as required by ESIC and tell them that Rourkela is your priority 1 in terms of an ESIC medical college.

It has been reported that you may have allocated the land for an ESIC medical college in Bhubaneswar. Many of us are from Bhubaneswar and considering that it already has 4 functioning medical colleges with several new ones in the pipeline that includes an AIIMS-like institution and a Railway medical college, we request that Rourkela be your priority 1 in terms of an ESIC medical college.

(If ESIC has some weakness or need for the Bhubaneswar area it may have its second medical college of Orissa in Bhubaneswar as it is doing in Karnataka where it is establishing two medical colleges, one in Bangalore and one in Gulbarga. Or, it may have additional post-graduate programs in Bhubaneswar as it is doing in Tamil nadu where the ESIC medical college imparting undergraduate education will be in Coimbatore, but the Aynavaram ESI Hospital in Chennai would offer post-graduate courses.)

sincerely

37 comments September 1st, 2009

Ranking of Indian Engineering and Technical Institutes based on research: NIT Rourkela at number 20

The following table is from the current science article at http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug102009/304.pdf titled “Ranking of Indian Engineering and Technological Institutes for their Research Performance during 1999-2008” by G. Prathap and B. M. Gupta. It appears in Current Science, Vol. 97(3), 2009.  It gives the top 30 engineering and technical institutes based on publications from those institutes during 1999-2008. Based on this ranking NIT Rourkela is at number 20.

In the table below: P is the number of papers published, C is the number of citations obtained, ICP is the number of papers through international collaboration, h is the H-index and p is a newly proposed index.

There has been some discussin on these ranking in several blogs. Following are some links to those blog entries.

• http://giridharmadras.blogspot.com/2009/08/rankings-of-iitiisc.html.
• http://nanopolitan.blogspot.com/2009/08/pratap-and-guptas-paper-on-research.html.
• http://donutbekaswami.blogspot.com/2009/08/is-nitk-really-top-engineering-school.html.
• http://donutbekaswami.blogspot.com/2009/08/research-at-nits-can-we-solve-it.html.
• http://rainbow-science.blogspot.com/2009/08/fight-for-rankof-best-indian-institute.html.

19 comments August 23rd, 2009

Three more new engineering colleges in the JEE Counselling list; Purushottam Institute of Technology back in the fray

Update, Aug 28 2009: Reader Sabyasachi Kar notices that two more engineering colleges are in the latest counseling list. They are:

• Nigam Institute of engineering and Technology, Barang,Cuttack
• Adarsa College of Engineering, Angul

So now, the total number of engineering colleges goes to 94.

Thanks to keen eye of reader Parashar Das, the latest JEE seat availability list shows three new colleges as well as Purushottam Institute of Technology, Rourkela which was earlier prevented from further counselling.

The three new colleges are:

• VITS Engineering College, Tangi, Khurda (VTK) Pvt.
• Vijyanjali Institute of Technology ,Gadavanga, Balasore (VTB) Pvt
• Oxford College of Engineering and Management ,Ramachandrapur, Bhubaneswar (OCM) Pvt.

That takes the total number of colleges in Orissa JEE counselling to 88+4=92 and total number of new colleges in JEE Counseling to 25+3 = 28. (Other colleges/institutions that do not take students via Orissa JEE are: IIT Bhubaneswar, NIT Rourkela, ITER, KIIT, Department of Agricultural Engineering at OUAT and  ICFAI Tech, Bhubaneswar.)

14 comments August 2nd, 2009

Summary of India Today ranking of Engineering Colleges from 2003-2009

The following table is from http://admissionsync.com/2009/06/18/india-today-ranking-of-indian-engineering-colleges-2009/ with a few additional links added by me.

4 comments July 26th, 2009

JEE Counseling for 88 Engineering Colleges/Institutes/Universities in Orissa; 25 of them are new

Update: As one may notice one of the existing colleges that is missing from the list below is:

• Purushottam Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

It is missing because the Industries department of Orissa has barred it from admitting students from Orissa JEE in 2009-2010. Some details are reported at http://dailypioneer.com/191657/Industry-dept-bars-Purushottam-Institute.html. It was allowed to fill up seats based on AIEEE though.

The list below is based on the availability of seats pages of http://jeeorissa.com/availability_of_seats.asp.

1. Ajay Binay Institute of Technology Cuttack (ABT) Pvt.
2. Apex Institute of Technology & Management, Pahal Bhubaneshwar (APT) Pvt.
3. ARYAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY PANCHAGAON, KHURDA Bhubaneswar (AIE) Pvt.
4. Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
5. Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
6. Bhubaneswar Engineering College Khurda (BEC) Pvt.
7. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology JANLA, KHURDA (BIB) Pvt.
8. Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
9. BRM International Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (BII) Pvt.
10. C. V. Raman College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CVR) Pvt.
11. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology Bhubaneswar (CPT) Govt.
12. Centurian Institute of Technology Khurda (CIK) Pvt.
13. College of Engineering & Technology Bhubaneswar (CET) Govt.
14. College of Engineering Bhubaneswar Bhubaneshwar (CEB) Pvt.
15. Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies Tangi, Cuttack (DRM) Pvt.
16. Eastern Academy of Science & Technology Phulnakhara, Khurda (EAS) Pvt.
17. EINSTEIN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT BANIATANGI, KHURDA (EAT) Pvt.
18. EKLAVYA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Jatni, Bhubaneswar (ECT) Pvt.
19. GANDHI ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING GOLONTHARA, BERHAMPUR (GAT) Pvt.
20. Gandhi Engineering College Bhubaneswar (GEC) Pvt.
21. GANDHI INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY BANIATANGI,KHURDA (GIE) Pvt.
22. Gandhi Institute for Technology Bhubaneswar (GIF) Pvt.
23. Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
24. Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
25. Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
26. Gandhi Institute of Technological Advancement Badaraghunathpur, Bhubaneswar (GIB) Pvt.
27. Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (GIK) Pvt.
28. Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology & Management Chhaitana Puri (GHT) Pvt.
29. Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
30. Government College of Engineering Kalahandi Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi (GCK) Govt.
31. GURUKUL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) JAMUJHARI, BHUBANESWAR (GCW) Pvt.
32. Gurukul Institute of Technology,Janla Bhubaneswar (GKT) Pvt.
33. HITECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING BHUBANESWAR (HCE) Pvt.
34. Hi-Tech Institute of Technology Khurda (HIT) Pvt.
35. Indic Institute of Design & Research Khurda (IID) Pvt.
36. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
37. INDOTECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING MALLIPADA, KHURDA (ICE) Pvt.
38. Indus College of Engg. Bhubaneswar (IDU) Pvt.
39. Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
40. International Institute of Information Technology(Self Sustaining) Gothapatana, Bhubaneswar (III) Govt.
41. Jagannath Institute of Engineering & Technology Cuttack (JIC) Pvt.
42. Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
43. Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
44. KMBB COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY DALEIPUT, KHURDA (KCE) Pvt.
45. Konark Institute of Science & Technology Jatni,Bhubaneswar (KIS) Pvt.
46. Koustav Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (KIT) Pvt.
47. Koustuva Institute of Self Domain(for Women) Bhubaneswar (KID) Pvt.
48. Krupajala Engineering College Pubasasan, Bhubaneswar (KEC) Pvt.
49. Maharaja Institute of Technology,Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (MIK) Pvt.
50. Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology Paniora, Bhubaneswar (MIB) Pvt.
51. Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.
52. Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
53. Modern Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (MIM) Pvt.
54. Nalanda Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (NIT) Pvt.
55. National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
56. NM Institute of Engineering & Technology Sijua, Bhubaneswar (NMI) Pvt.
57. Orissa Engineering College Nijigarhkurki, Bhubaneswar (OEC) Pvt.
58. Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
59. Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
60. Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
61. Parala Maharaja Engineering College Berhampur (PMG) Govt.
62. RAHUL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY GOVINDAPUR JN, BERHAMPUR (RIE) Pvt.
63. Rajdhani Engineering College Bhubaneswar (REC) Pvt.
64. Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
65. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.
66. Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
67. Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
68. Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
69. SHIBANI INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION JANLA, BHUBANESWAR (SIE) Pvt.
70. Silicon Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (SIT) Pvt.
71. Silicon Institute of Technology Sasan, Sambalpur (SIS) Pvt.
72. SOPHITORIUM ENGINEERING COLLEGE BANIATANGI, KHURDA (SEK) Pvt.
73. SPINTRONIC TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCE RESEARCH TARABOI, KHURDA (STA) Pvt.
74. SRINIX COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING RANIPATNA, BALASORE (SCE) Pvt.
75. Subas Institute of Technology Barang,Bhubaneswar (SIB) Pvt.
76. SUDDHANANDA ENGINEERING & RESEARH CENTRE PHULNAKHARA, CUTTACK (SER) Pvt.
77. Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
78. Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology Dhenkanal (SYN) Pvt.
79. SYNERGY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHIMPUR, KHURDA (SIK) Pvt.
80. TempleCity Institute of Technology & Engineering Khurda (TCT) Pvt.
81. The Techno School Bhubaneswar (TTS) Pvt.
82. Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar (TAT) Pvt.
83. VEDANG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLGY DURGA PRASAD,KHURDA (VIK) Pvt.
84. Veera Surendra Sai University of Technology Burla (UCE) Govt.
85. Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
86. VIKASH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) BARGARH (VCE) Pvt.
87. VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR (VIB) Pvt.
88. Xavier Institute of Technology Ghangapatna, Bhubaneswar (XIT) Pvt.

The Engineering Colleges, institutes and departments that do not take students via JEE are:

1. IIT Bhubaneswar
2. NIT Rourkela
3. ITER, SOA University, Bhubaneswar
4. KIIT Engineering College, Bhubaneswar
5. Department of Agricultural Engineering, OUAT, Bhubaneswar
6. ICFAI Tech, Bhubaneswar

5 comments July 25th, 2009

Status of WODC helped private medical colleges in Kalahandi, Balangir and Rourkela

Following is from Samaja:

The summary of the status is:

• Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi: Good progress, MCI visitor scheduled to visit in September for inspection
• Balangir: Govt. has received 6 proposals after its last call. The proposals are from:
  • Dr.D Meher Education & Health Trust, Balangir,
  • Santhigiri Ashram, Kerala,
  • Sahayata Trust, Hydrabad,
  • supreme Task, New Delhi,
  • Vigyan Bharati Charitable Trust , Bhubaneswar and
  • RVS Educational Trust, Tamil Nadu.
• Rourkela: MOU signed with Bhubaneswar based Vigyan Bharati Charitable trust. (They also run the Hi-Tech Medical college in Bhubaneswar.) Construction has started.

2 comments July 1st, 2009

Rajasthan uses a balanced approach in choosing locations for its national institutions

The panel set up by the CM of Rajsthan has picked the following places to recommend to the central government for the various national institutes and universities coming up in Rajasthan. (From a Times of India report and another Times of India report)

• IIT : Jodhpur
• IIM: Udaipur
• National University aiming for world-class: Ajmer 
• Central university: Bikaner.

The committee also recommended:

• a "futuristic" heritage conservation and museology centre in Jaipur
• an institute of Food Technology in Hadoti region of Kota

Currently the following national institutions exisit or are being made in the following places in Rajasthan:

• NIT: Jaipur
• LNMIT (private but top-notch): Jaipur
• National law School: Jodhpur
• AIIMS-like institution (being made): Jodhpur

The institutions are nicely distributed between various cities of Rajsthan, although people of Jaipur and Kota are not happy. The population of these locations are:

• Jaipur (World Gazetteer 2009): 3.1 million (has inetrnational air connectivity)
• Jodhpur (World Gazetteer 2009): 988K  – (332 kms from Jaipur; has air connectivity)
• Udaipur (World Gazetteer 2009): 457K – (400 kms from Jaipur; has air connectivity)
• Ajmer (World Gazetteer 2009):  604.7K – (131 kms from Jaipur)
• Bikaner (World Gazetteer 2009): 624.6K – (321 kms from Jaipur)
• Kota (World Gazetteer 2009): 823 K (242 kms from Jaipur)

In contrast in Orissa the distribution of national institutions are more Bhubaneswar centric. Following is the status:

• IIT: Bhubaneswar
• NISER: Bhubaneswar
• AIIMS-like (being made) : Bhubaneswar
• National Law University: Cuttack (part of Bhubaneswar metroplex)
• IIIT (state-funded) : Bhubaneswar
• National University aiming to be world class: Bhubaneswar
• Vedanta University (private): Puri
• NIT: Rourkela
• Central University: Koraput
• IIIT (centrally funded): state wants it in Berhampur; center has identified as Bhubaneswar

Unfortunately, one of the reason given behind the above selection is the lack of connectivity and the size of places. Following is some information on that.

• Bhubaneswar (World Gazetteer 2009): 1.67 million  (has airport but no inetrnational connectivity)
• Rourkela (World Gazetteer 2009): 551 K  (no air connections) – 334 kms from Bhubaneswar
• Berhampur (World Gazetteer 2009): 403 K (no air connections) – 160 kms from Bhubaneswar
• Koraput-Jeypore-Sunabeda: 200K+ (no air connections) – 499 kms from bhubaneswar
• Puri (World Gazetteer 2009): 185K – 60 kms from Bhubaneswar 
• Sambalpur (World Gazetteer 2009): 258 K (no air connections)  – 321 kms from Bhubaneswar
• Jharsuguda-Belpahar-Brajarajnagar: 200 K (no air connections) – 374 kms from Bhubaneswar; 50 kms from Sambalpur

For the future, following are some of the steps that Orissa government needs to urgently take regarding developing more larger urban areas and having the national institutions more evenly distributed:

• Make sure the centrally funded IIIT is established in Berhampur
• Establish functioing airports in Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Koraput at the earliest
• Push for international flights to Bhubaneswar
• Push for upgradation of UCE Burla (Sambalpur area) to an IIEST (Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology)
• Push for the establishment of a branch of IGNTU (Indira Gandhi National Tribal University) in Phulbani
• Push for the establishment of IIM outside of the Bhubaneswar area
• Push for the establishment of a centrally funded KBK Inst of Engineering and Technology (along the lines of SLIET and ABAGKIET) in Kalahandi or Balangir.
• Push for upgrading another medical college (Berhampur or Sambalpur) to AIIMS level.
• Push for establishing NID in a location outside of Bhubaneswar
• Push for establishing NIPER in a location outside of Bhubaneswar
• Push for a BITS Pilani campus in a location outside of Bhubaneswar

9 comments June 12th, 2009

Samaja ad for admission in ATDC Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Rourkela

The web ad at http://aepcindia.com/atdc/atdcAdmissionNotice.html only mentions ATDC Bhubaneswar. I guess the centers at Berhampur and Rourkela are satellite centers. Earlier there was also plan for satellite centers in  Baripada, Sambalpur and Cuttack. I guess they will start later.

There is an Institute of apparel management in Gurgaon in the outskirts of New Delhi.

1 comment December 2nd, 2008

General Colleges count in various Orissa districts – work in progress

The left four columns(*) in the following list is based on the lists at http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/DistBlockWise_College_list.htm and http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/actsrules.htm. It seems both these lists are not up-to-date. For example, neither list has any colleges in the Boudha district. However, the Boudha district web pages mention it having 9 colleges. Using Google some of the colleges one can find in Boudha are Boudh Panchayat College and Gandharadi College. The rightmost column (**) is based on going to the district web pages and getting information there. That is also not up-to-date as in recent years numerous junior (+2) colleges have opened.

2 comments November 24th, 2008

Setting up of 6,000 Model Schools at Block level gets union cabinet’s nod: PIB

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=44613.

The 123 educationally backward blocks in Orissa are (See also http://education.nic.in/mdm/EEBs.pdf for a bigger list):

Add comment November 7th, 2008