Odisha HRD

IIT Bhubaneswar plans several specialised schools that will be made with corporate partnerships

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

… The schools proposed to be set up by the fledgling IIT include the School of Metallurgical and Minerals Engineering; School of Ocean and Environmental Sciences & Climate Change; School of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and the School of Design and Creative Arts. An academic advisory committee has already been constituted and it will soon submit a detailed project report to the Union ministry of human resource development on the establishment of such schools.

"These specialised schools, which will run with corporate partnerships with our strong focus on climate change research, are what we feel will differentiate IIT-Bhubaneswar from the other IITs in the country," says Madhusudhan Chakraborty, director of IIT-BBS. He adds that the time-frame for setting up these schools and the expenditure involved would be known only after the submission of the detailed project report.

IIT-BBS is in talks with some corporate houses with the objective of running the proposed schools in sync with industry requirements. It has already entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the MGM Group for the establishment of a Chair Professor of eminence at the School of Metallurgical and Minerals Engineering. …

Meanwhile, IIT-BBS has started PhD programmes from the academic session 2009-10 with the focus areas for research being climate change, alternative energy, manufacturing and mineral development.

It is offering a seed funding of Rs 5 lakh to each of the faculty members to boost research. "The seed funding is expected to give a big boost to research at IIT-Bhubaneswar. The institute has also started consultancy in a small way", says Chakraborty.

IIT-BBS … has 45 full-time faculty members besides visiting faculty. …

Chakraborty hopes to have a pool of 2,500 students and 250 faculty members. In the next 15 years, he expects a student intake of 10,000 and faculty strength of 1,000. IIT-BBS also expects to receive a funding of Rs 60 crore from the Government in the current financial year.

3 comments July 27th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

SOS from Vedanta University or Vedanta University’s Good Bye indication to Odisha??

Last month there was an article in Business Standard about the difficulty Vedanta University is facing and its consideration of shifting to the southern states. See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4767.

Today I was pointed to a new article in Business World. Following are some excerpts.

Agarwal’s other project in Orissa — Vedanta University — seems to be going nowhere. It appears it would take years before the first brick is laid on his most ambitious, and grandest, education project.

Agarwal, founder of London-based Vedanta Group, turned heads in 2006 when he said he would set up an 8,000-acre, $3-billion university under the aegis of Vedanta Foundation (which later changed its name to Anil Agarwal Foundation or AAF) in the state’s coastal town of Puri. He also offered $1 billion from his personal funds. Agarwal’s holding in his companies is worth more than $10 billion (as on 31 March 2010).

However, as with most projects requiring land acquisition, the university project, too, got mired in controversy. On 17 March, Orissa Lok Pal Justice P.K. Patra recommended a vigilance probe against AAF’s land deals. In May, the environment and forests ministry withheld clearance for the university, citing “irregularities, illegal, unethical and unlawful deeds”.

With the odds stacked against it, AAF is weighing other options. “Two states have extended an invitation; a decision is likely to be taken on a new site in two months,” says Ajit Kumar Samal, in-charge of the university project. He, however, refuses to divulge more details. Experts say the alternatives to Orissa could be Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which have good educational infrastructure. “Any place near Hyderabad or Chennai would be a good location,” says Narayanan Ramaswamy, head of education practice at consultancy firm KPMG.

The more important question, though, is: is a large university of this kind feasible in India?

Too Ambitious?
Vedanta’s justification for requiring so much land is simple — to build an institution on the lines of Stanford and Harvard. The 8,180-acre Stanford University was established in 1891. Harvard, set up in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US, and has about 5,000 acres. But both were set up when land was not a precious commodity. Besides, the US is a far bigger country than India, and can afford to have universities of such scale.

I was also told that in a CNBC TV show (mentioned here, but no video there yet) Mr. Anil Agarwal said that they are looking for land for Vedanta University in some southern states.

10 comments July 25th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

IIT Bhubaneswar gets its first Chair Professorship

MGM Minerals Ltd, Bhubaneswar has paid Rs 1.5 crores to create a Chair "Professor of Eminence" in Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering for 5 years. According the Director of IIT Bhubaneswar: "This is historic for IIT Bhubaneswar."

1 comment July 23rd, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Educational Initiatives of the Bharti Foundation

From their web page at http://www.bhartifoundation.org/wps/wcm/connect/bhartifoundation/BhartiFoundation/Home we have the following.

BHARTI FOUNDATION, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises was established in 2000 with a vision "To help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential". BHARTI FOUNDATION, is an organization established under the Laws of India with charitable status pursuant to a "Deed of Trust".

One of their flagship program is the Satya Bharti School program. Following is from their home page.

The Satya Bharti School Program is the flagship program of Bharti Foundation. With a goal to establish 500 Primary and 50 Senior Secondary Schools, this program, aims to create a replicable, scalable and holistic model of quality education in rural India

Following are excerpts from an article in Economic Times about Satya Bharti schools.

Harpreet is one of the 30,000 students who are now studying in Mittal’s free English-medium schools in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This is likely to increase to 50,000 in two years. The plan is to eventually build 500 primary schools and 50 secondary schools which will enroll 100,000 students by 2013.

Not only is this one of the largest such direct interventions by a business house, but Mittal also claims this is one of the largest affirmative action initiatives in the country.

“More than 21,000 of the 30,000 or 70% of the students in these schools are from SC/ST and OBC categories. The ratio is the same among the 1,100 teachers now on the foundation’s rolls,” says Mittal. “We have not gone looking for SC/ST students, but we have gone into catchments that are very poor. And, by this very design, we have got them,” Mr Mittal adds. Moreover, 47% of the students are girls.

… Most of them have been set up as an alternative to poorly-run government schools. There is a world of difference between the two. Kirthi Sharma, a head teacher of one of the foundation’s schools near Ludhiana, points out that simple things like clean drinking water, working infrastructure, clean toilets were some of the things that the 191 students in the school cherished. A replacement teacher is also sent from a nearby school or from the foundation if a teacher goes on leave, ensuring that all classes are always staffed.

Each of these schools is built according to a blueprint drawn up by Delhi-based architect Navneeth Malhotra. The Foundation invited several architects to make a pitch for the project and were given a Rs 20 lakh cost cap for a school building. Finally, Sunil and brother Rakesh Mittal handpicked Malhotra.

Each school is located in half an acre of land and has five classrooms (for standard 1-5) and a staff room. Other facilities include toilets, a vegetable garden and a playground. Every school also has an internet connection. “We send weekly updates on attendance, books, and uniforms to Delhi on email. We also download teaching manuals, instructions and sometimes even additions to the menu amongst other things,” says Anamika Kappor, head teacher in a school in Ludhiana district Punjab. The schools run on two shifts and have between 5-7 teachers whose salaries start at about Rs 4,500. The head teacher is paid about Rs 7,000. On an average, the foundation spends about Rs 12 lakh per annum to run each school.

The Bharti group’s managerial skills are quite evident in the way these schools are run. Like every group company, the Bharti Foundation has a CEO in Vijay Chadda. He quit the army in 1992, held a string of high-profile corporate jobs, including that of CEO of Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Kuoni Travel, before he took a pay cut to join the foundation in 2008.

… He has a team of 1600 employees; 1100 are teachers, while the rest are involved in logistics, training, curriculum design, and other support roles. Three state-heads oversee the functioning of about 90 schools each, and report to the headquarters in Delhi.

The centralised training wing and a team of 10 trainers prepare the curriculum and coach the teachers. Training is a 365-days-a-year operation. “There are subject specific modules happening all the time — for instance, the maths or science teachers of all schools in that district will be called to a centralised location and taught new tools and skill sets,” explains Mr Chadda.

… Though it has 236 primary schools, the Bharti Foundation is planning to set up only 25 secondary schools, that too over the next 3 years. Mittal’s plan is to have each of these 25 secondary schools absorb all the students passing out from 10 primary schools in the vicinity. He chose this hub-and-spoke model for various reasons.

Foundation executives say it is impossible to upgrade all primary schools to secondary schools. “The latter would require labs for subjects like Physics and Chemistry and teachers for such specialised areas,” Mr Chadda said. Funding the infrastructure and finding the teachers for 236 such secondary schools would be a challenge. That’s why it settled for one secondary school as a hub for students coming out of 10 primary schools.

… The Rajasthan government is undertaking joint surveys with the foundation to convert many of the existing schools to senior secondary schools. The World Bank has also shown interest, Mr Chadda added. There are other problems too like 20% attrition amongst teachers. The foundation pays only a third of the salaries when compared to a government school. “Many teachers use this as a platform to get experience before moving on,” he says. “We pay higher than other private schools in the locality, but being a charitable organisation, we cannot match government salaries,” he adds. He believes attrition will come down once the secondary schools become operational. “Primary school teachers can be promoted — this will be an incentive,” he said.

… That was when Mr Mittal decided to do it himself. He started the Bharti Foundation in 2000 with a corpus of Rs 200 crore. The dream for 500 schools that would educate 100,000 poor children was taking shape in his mind.

… Soon, the Rajasthan government offered 49 schools in the Neemrana and Ajmer blocks for adoption. It moved existing teachers to other schools and gave the foundation a clean slate. The foundation then invested Rs 5 lakh to renovate each school and hired new teachers. It was a brave move considering the political ramifications of handing over state-owned and run schools to corporates. But, like his businesses, Mittal wanted to scale up fast here too.

They have recently started a Satya Bharti School in Murshidabad West Bengal. Odisha should contact them and offer them terms similar to Rajasthan.

Bharti Foundation also has a scholarship program. Following is an excerpt about it.

The Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship Program was instituted in the year 2006-07 to enable academically bright youth from financially weak families to complete their higher education. Currently the program supports 232 scholars across the country and covers courses in management, engineering and agriculture.

… Mentorship is an integral component of the Bharti Scholarship Program. Involving senior executives from the Bharti Group of Companies, the Mentorship Program looks at providing each scholar with a mentor who can help make the right career choices, provide them with relevant exposure and guide them in decisions which will shape their future. Today, 105 senior executives from Bharti Group of Companies are involved in the mentoring program.

The scholarship form is available at http://www.nitt.edu/www/uploads/861_bharti-form.pdf. An FAQ on the scholarship is available on the web. Google "Bharti foundation scholarship FAQ" to get a link to it.

Add comment July 23rd, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Vedanta Science College to come up in Lanjigarh Kalahandi; DAV society to manage it: tathya.in

Following is from a report in tathya.in.

Vedanta Aluminium will set up first ever science college at Lanjigarh of Kalahandi District in Orissa. 

The full session will begin from the academic year 2011-12. 

The college will impart graduate level studies in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology, Botany and Environment Science. 

This will be funded by the Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LPADF) – the special purpose vehicle formed for as per the advice of the Supreme Court. 

In the last Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LPADF) meeting, it has been decided to open a graduate science college at Lanjigarh to provide opportunities to large no of students of the block as well as nearby area like Muniguda, Ambodola and Biswanathpur area; as no such college is available within 50 KM radius of Lanjigarh. 

The opening of the science college will fulfill the demand of local residents, who are demanding the science college for a long time.

Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh and Director of LPADF said, “It is the long due for the people of Lanjigarh. 

… Vedanta Aluminium Limited has proactively agreed to provide land for the college. 

DAV College Trust and Management society has also agreed to be the partner of the project by providing best education practice for the pupils of Kalahandi. 

A letter of confirmation to the effect has already been submitted to Collector of Kalahandi. 

DAV College Trust and Management is a premier education society in the country and has already set up more than hundred colleges across India. 

In Lanjigarh, DAV College Trust and Management society has jointly set up an international school, which has been operating for the last four years and is one of the most modern schools within Kalahandi and Rayagada district .

Add comment July 23rd, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Draft Law on Innovation Universities under circulation

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

… As per the first draft of the Bill circulated by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry to the heads of all higher educational institutions like Central universities, Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology, and members of the task force on the National Commission for Higher Education and Research, each University for Innovation will have to establish a University Endowment Fund but will have the freedom to receive donations, contributions from alumni and other incomes as long as 80 per cent of annual income is used for development of research infrastructure. Each university will be a not-for-profit legal entity and no part of the surplus revenue will be invested for any other purpose except growth and development of the university.

… The Innovation Universities are primarily intended to be private institutions. However, the HRD Ministry can also make grants to develop them, in which case the President would be the Visitor and the government would have a larger role to play in their functioning.

Each university will have an independent Board of Governors that will be empowered to discharge all functions by enacting statutes to provide for its administration, management and operations. The Board will delegate its powers to the Academic Board headed by the Vice-Chancellor that will perform financial, management and administrative functions including appointments and collaborations, the Board of Studies that will specify programmes of study to be offered, Faculty of Knowledge Manpower Assessment to study and assess through research trends in emerging fields of knowledge of relevance, and the Research Council that will interface with the research funding organisations, industry and civil society.

Intellectual property

In the case of a publicly-funded university, any new knowledge created from research that leads to an intellectual property will have to be reported to the government for retaining title. The Centre may refuse title on the grounds of public interest or exceptional circumstances, or national security. The Central government will protect, maintain and utilise the publicly funded intellectual property for which the title vests with it and it can give directions for prohibiting or restricting the publication of information to any person or entity which it considers necessary in the interest of the country. The income or royalties arising out of publicly funded intellectual property will be shared by the University for Innovation with the intellectual property creator in accordance with the provision.

The establishment of 14 Universities for Innovation is expected to set benchmarks for excellence for other institutions of higher learning through “path-breaking research and promoting synergies between teaching and research.” Each such university will stand for “humanism, tolerance, reason and adventure of ideas and search for truth.” It is expected to attempt to provide a path for humankind free from deprivation and seek to understand and appreciate nature and its laws for the well-being of the people. Further, these institutions will seek to “provide society with competent men and women to meet the knowledge needs of the country and perform service to the nation and to humanity and cultivating the right moral and intellectual values.”

I am trying to get hold of the draft law, but have not been successful yet.

1 comment July 22nd, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Junior College preferences to study Plus 2 Science among students of Odisha

This is based on the cut-off data in http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/5020 and is only about the 169 junior colleges for which there is e-counseling. Note that there are now more than 100 private plus 2 science colleges across Odisha (with more than 50 in Bhubaneswar-Cuttack area alone) and they are not part of this list. An example is the Kalinga Bharati College that did very well in Plus 2 exams this year. In 2007 we had made a list of the new breed of private +2 science colleges at http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/283. By now the number of such colleges has more than doubled.

The above data is consistent with anecodotal stories that I heard regarding most students from areas like Bhawanipatna going off to other places (including Raipur and Visakhapatnam) to pursue their +2 science and get coaching.

2 comments July 21st, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Many 11th plan HRD initiatives including 20 new IIITs facing roadblocks; Minister Sibal seeks PM’s help

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.

… Sibal had written to the PM seeking his intervention on three stuck schemes including the proposal to set up 20 new IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology) on PPP basis, which was shot down by the Finance Ministry earlier this month. Of the other two stuck projects, one is meant to finance state universities and colleges, and the second is a Rs 2,000-crore scheme to set up 2,500 vocational schools across the country.

The PMO has now asked the Planning Commission to re-examine the projects.

Sibal is learnt to have brought to the PM’s notice how these projects were key to increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education. India is looking at a GER target of 20 per cent by 2020 against a dismal 12 per cent at present.

… the ministry’s proposal — shared with all state governments last year — to incentivise states for setting up new universities and colleges has also hit a roadblock. The proposal is to provide Central assistance to state governments to the tune of 1/3rd of the capital cost for setting up of new universities and colleges and also for expansion of existing institutes. The state governments will be required to bear 2/3rd of the capital cost and recurring expenditure. In fact, states have already been asked to identify land and suitable locations for these new institutions and also prepare detailed project reports.

2 comments July 21st, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

S S Magic Academy in Bhubaneswar offers various magic related courses

The web page of this institute is http://ssmagicacademy.com/index.html. Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph which describes some of the offerings of this institute.

“I just picked up my bag and ran away from home. Santosh Sir helped me to settle here and trained me. Now, I am a residential magician with a city hotel and earn a very good salary. My parents now understand that this is a lucrative career,” says the undergraduate.

Another student of Santosh, Jiban Mishra, who holds a masters degree in chemistry, has a similar story. “I am addicted to magic and I am glad that I have made it a career,” said Mishra, who also performs at another city hotel.

The institute offers courses like professional close-up that has two batches, one for beginners and another for intermediates and is a four-month programme. Close-up magic for kids is a three-month course whereas Conjuring and Illusion is a two-month one. Many tricks taught here are based on playing cards, cups and balls, ropes and rings and so on. “Playing cards is a favourite for any magician. There are many permutations and combinations possible with it and the spectators too understand the props well, so they enjoy it more,” says Santosh.

Add comment July 20th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Heavy demand for M.Com at Utkal University; most graduates get placed before finishing

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The varsity has received 802 applications for 48 seats in commerce, implying that as many as 16 aspirants are vying for each seat.

… In the last academic session, the department had received 580 applications. The choice of course has got its own reasons. One of the most important and visible reasons has been the on-campus placement. Students are offered jobs even before they appear for their final examination.

Employers in the banking, insurance and other financial sectors are quite keen to take students, said senior officials in the department. …

… “We restructure the syllabus every three years, keeping up with the latest trends and demands in the market. “In fact, many of those who wish to pursue a course in cost accountancy and chartered accountancy can be seen attending commerce classes for they are significantly similar,” said A.K. Swain, a lecturer in the department.

An M.Com course currently includes in its syllabus, management concepts and practices, marketing managements, corporate financial accounting, financial management, accounting for decision making, statistical analysis, business environment, insurance management, organisation behaviour, and computer application in business.

It also includes managerial economics, corporate tax planning, entrepreneurship development, e-commerce, advance accounting, services marketing, advertising and sales management, financial institutions, markets and international accounting, strategic management, economic analysis of decision-making, and corporate legal framework.

1 comment July 20th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

First phase cutoff marks for 169 junior colleges across Odisha

Following is from http://dheorissa.in/sams/JuniorCutoffMarks.aspx.

Add comment July 20th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Kalinganagar citizens ask for central school, engineering college & medical college

Following is from a report in Pioneer.

The Vyasa Nagar Nagarik Committee has demanded a Central School, an engineering college and a medical college at Vyasa Nagar and Kalinga Nagar. It placed its demand to the Jajpur Collector on Sunday. The 12-point charter of demands was also sent to the Chief Minister, Finance Minister and local Korai MLA Preeti Ranjan Ghadai.

In a unanimous resolution passed at a meeting of the committee, it was alleged that in the name of development of a steel city in the Kalinga Nagar-Vyasa Nagar area the local people are exploited by industrialists. Industrial units like Jindal, NINL and VISA have come up in the area and very soon Tata Steel is likely to start its plant in the locality.

The committee noted that so far no industrial house has done any social service in the area though many of them established their industries about four years ago. They are only polluting the entire area with dust and smoke. So far, they have not extended any help to set up any school, college, hospital, market complex or even staff quarters in the area. This is despite the fact that the industries are depending on Vyasa Nagar as the gateway to the industrial hub of Kalinga Nagar.

Now, the population of the Vyasa Nagar Municipality has crossed the mark of one lakh, that too only for the steel industries. The road conditions of the Vyasa Nagar and Kalinga Nagar areas are pathetic. The educated youth of the locality are not getting jobs in the plants. Even diploma and ITI certificate holders are posted as labourers, the committee pointed out.

… The committee, headed by its president Dr HK Sahu, and secretary Duryodhan Rout, met the Collector at Jajpur Town and placed the demands before him. The others associated in the committee are senior journalist Krishna Chandra Samal, Rishi Agrawal and Alekh Mallick. They warned the Government that the committee would resort to agitation if the demands are not met by July 30.

Although I am originally from that area, I have not yet taken special interest towards it. It is good to see that a local citizen committee has finally started making the demands.

I believe that industrial and mining places should be provided with appropriate HRD facilities so that the bad apsects of industries and mining are balanced with the good aspects. The places of this category with a lot of operating industries, mines or both that the Odisha government has some what neglected so far and needs to pay immediate attention are: Paradeep, Kalinganagar, Jharsuguda-Ib valley (encompasses part of Sundergarh district), Joda-Barbil, Keonjhar, Rayagada and Angul-Talcher. Among these places, Keonjhar and Talcher have an engineering college and MCL is making a medical college in the Talcher area.

3 comments July 20th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Comparing top 1% cut-off across various boards in India for class X (2007) and XII (2009)

The following is from http://iiser-admissions.in/marks/ which came from Table 1 of the INSPIRE application form of 2010.

Add comment July 19th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

INSPIRE Scholarhsip deadline is July 25 2010

Its website is http://inspire-dst.gov.in/. Following are important links:

• Application form for SHE Scholarship for the year 2008/09/10

• Online form for SHE Scholarship for the year 2008/09/10

 Following are some excerpts from the application form.

Genesis of INSPIRE: Global competitiveness in the changing global knowledge economy calls for expansion and right-sizing of the Research and Development base of the country. Need for
special interventions for attracting youth to study of natural sciences and careers with research is recognized. Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) is a Programme launched by the Government of India to strengthen the National Science and Technology base. It is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

About INSPIRE: Programme includes three components namely Scheme for Early Attraction of
Talents for Science (SEATS), Scholarships for Higher Education (SHE) and Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC). The Scheme SHE is focused on attraction of talent to study of natural/basic sciences at the bachelor and master’s level education. SHE is currently limited to support for educational programmes at B.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. and integrated master’s level course in sciences leading to MSc in any branch of natural and basic sciences namely mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, earth sciences and life sciences.

Call for Applications: Applications are invited from eligible candidates for `Scholarship for
Higher Education (SHE)’ component of INSPIRE. Total of 10,000 scholarships are available
annually under SHE starting April 2008. The scholarships are limited only to the candidates
studying courses in natural/basic sciences (B.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons), integrated M.Sc.) in any one of the recognized institutions in India. Eligibility criterion for the scholarships are a) performance in
board examinations within the cutoff threshold (of top 1%) for each state or central board
examination at the class X and class XII level and/or b) performance in any of the specified
competitive examinations within stipulated cut off ranks. The eligible applicant must be already
enrolled into degree level education in natural/basic sciences in any of the recognized institutions
in India.

Criteria for Eligibility for SHE:

a) Based on Performance in Board Examinations: The candidates should have obtained
aggregate marks in the top 1% in the board examination at both class X and XII levels. For
example, the candidates applying for INSPIRE Scholarship 2008 should have secured marks
within the top 1% in class X in the year 2006 and class XII in 2008 in the respective board
examinations and should have joined a degree course leading to B.Sc. or B.Sc. (Hons) or
integrated M.Sc. in natural/basic sciences in any institution in India. Cut-off marks for various
board examinations conducted in the years 2006 and 2007 for class X and corresponding year
of 2008 and 2009 for class XII are listed in Table 1. The cut-off marks of various Board
Examinations conducted in the years 2008 for Class X and 2010 for Class XII are being compiled and shall be up-loaded in Website in due course. Candidate securing top 1% marks only in class XII board examination can also submit the application form.

b) Based on Performance in Competitive Examinations (specified in Table 2).: Performance
within the top 10,000 ranks in Joint Entrance Examination of IIT, AIEEE (Engineering) and CBSE medical  and joining degree level courses in natural/basic sciences in any recognized Indian
institution. The candidate may apply with a valid document of these examinations. The scheme in its current format does not include courses in engineering, medicine, technology and other
professional courses.

c) Based on Performance in Competitive Examinations (specified in Table 3): Clearance of
competitive examinations conducted by institutions listed in Table 3 and all candidates securing
admissions and joining integrated M.Sc/ MS courses in natural/basic sciences conduced by Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), in Indian Institutes of Technology, Department of Atomic Energy – Centre for Basic Science (DAE-CBS) and University from the academic years 2008-09, 2009-10 ad 2010-11 are eligible. Institutional coverage is being done for this category. Students in this category need not to apply.

Value and Type of Support: Eligible candidates will receive annually scholarship @ total value
Rs.80,000 per candidate. The cash value payable to the SHE scholarship holder is Rs.60,000 per annum. All the SHE scholars are undertake summer time attachment to an active researcher in recognized research centers in the country. A summer time attachment fee of Rs.20,000 will be paid to the mentoring institution for undertaking summer time project.

Duration of the Support: Selected candidates will be supported for a maximum period of five
years starting 1st year course in B.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons) and integrated course leading to M.S. or M.Sc. or the completion of the course, which ever is earlier. Continuation of the scholarship for once selected candidates is based on satisfactory performance of the examinations conducted and certified by the institution imparting education.

Format for Application: All interested and eligible candidates (as per Table 1 for Board
examination based eligibility or as per Table 2 or Table 3 for competitive examination based
eligibility) must apply in the prescribed format written preferable in English & Hindi only along
with attested copy of i) Mark sheets of Class X and Class XII and ii) Endorsement Certificate from Principal of the College/ Director or Registrar of the Institute or University where the applicant is presently enrolled. Candidate may please download this Advertisement and Application Format which is available at the website: www. inspire-dst.gov.in and submit the duly filled-in application with all necessary documents. Applications should be sent by Ordinary Post only within one month from the date of this advertisement in Newspaper and shall be addressed to the Director, National Institute of Science, Technology & Development Studies (NISTADS), Dr K S Krishnan Marg , New Delhi – 110012. The envelope should mention on top “Application for INSPIRE Scholarship – 2008, 2009 and 2010” program. For online submission of application, kindly also visit the Website: www.inspire-dst.gov.in. The online applicants should also submit a hardcopy of the applications with all attested documents.

1 comment July 19th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Several of the new Kendriya Vidyalayas start class immediately

Following three ads are from Samaja.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… two have already started functioning from the Millennium City in Cuttack.

The admission process in the two schools will commence from the current academic session, the notification for which has already been published by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).

The two schools will be operating from Munduli and Nuapatana.

The state government has allotted land for the construction of the two campuses, the work for which has already started.

Before the construction work is completed, the two schools will be operating from the CRPF campus, and from the Government Press.

“Students starting from standard I to V will be admitted now and soon the schools will be upgraded to standard X. Currently, both the schools will have 45 students each,”…

… the remaining nine schools at Kutra in Sundargarh, Bhanjanagar, Digapahandi and Aska in Ganjam, Murgabadi in Mayurbhanj, and one each at Sonepur, Deogarh, Jajpur and Nuapada will be set up soon.

Based on our bookkeeping in http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4222 after the above schools are established the only two districts in Odisha that will lack a Central School will be: Kendrapada and Nayagarh.

1 comment July 19th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

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

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

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

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

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

54 comments July 18th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

M.Tech programs offered by Engineering Colleges, other institutions and universities in Odisha

Following is extracted from multiple sources including http://www.aicte-india.org/excel/29jun/ORISSA.html. 

The * implies that I am not sure of the number. The number I have in that case may be a few years old. The above adds up to 1830+372* seats total. Out of which 1112+318* seats are in the greater Bhubaneswar (including Dhenkanal) area.

My guess is that majority of these M.Tech’s (at least 50-60%) would go into teaching. This should definitely help the faculty quality of the engineering colleges and programs in Odisha. In a few years IIT Bhubaneswar is going to start M.Tech. That would help the situation further.

1 comment July 16th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Sambalpur University on the path of progress: Samaja op-ed

2 comments July 14th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Bhubanswar to be the knowledge capital of Eastern India

Following report in Sambada talks about the meeting that the Odisha delegation had with Mr. Sam Pitroda in Chicago. I personally think the vision mentioned could be raised further. If the Bhubaneswar-Puri area makes the right move with respect to Vedanta University and several other initiatives that we later discussed in Stanford (we called it the Stanford Declaration) then the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda-Puri area has the possibility of becoming the knowledge capital of all of India and not just Eastern India. We will not spell out the details here as we do not want to tip the other states now. But if anyone is genuinely interested in helping in achieving that vision (which if designed properly would also entail all round growth of Odisha) feel free to write me.

4 comments July 14th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral

Programs offered at the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development Orissa in Bhubaneswar

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

MBA Degree in Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management

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

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Export Import Management

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Insurance Management

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

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Multimedia Design

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Fashion Design

vDiploma / P.G. Diploma in Jewellery Design.

vDiploma in Packaging.

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

Add comment July 14th, 2010 Author : Chitta Baral