Odisha HRD

So far AICTE has approved only one new institution in Odisha

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

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

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

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

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

2 comments June 25th, 2010

Odisha higher education taskforce report available

The report is available at http://dheorissa.in/DHE/pdf/FinalTaskforceReport.pdf. Although the report took into account many of my suggestions I am not completely happy with it. I plan to submit a separate individual addendum to it.

Please feel free to comment on the report. I may be able to take them into account in my planned addendum.

The executive summary of the report is as follows:

Task Force on Higher Education was constituted by the Government of Odisha on 7th October 2009 under the chairmanship of Prof. Trilochan Pradhan as requested by the Minister of Higher Education, Tourism and Culture, Sri Debi Prasad Mishra. The mandate of the Task Force was to prepare two annual plans for years 2010-11 and 2011-12, two five year perspective plans corresponding to the 12th and 13th plan periods respectively as well as a draft higher education policy. During a period of four months the Task Force completed eighteen interactive sessions, two State Level Workshops and five Regional workshops, one each in North, South, East, West and Central Regions of the State. In addition to this, sectoral consultations were organized with stakeholders of School and Mass Education, Technical, Medical, Agriculture and Management sectors. The suggestions of the members of the Task Force and citizens from all sectors of the civil society have been received through email, surface mail, written submission and discussions across the table. The Task Force has taken into consideration all these in the preparation of the report. The report embodies the collective endeavour of the members of the Task Force and the stakeholders of regional consultations.

The key recommendations of the Task Force are in three major areas, namely Restoration, Expansion and Consolidation covering the periods of 2010-12, 2012-17 and 2017-22 respectively. Expansion, inclusion and excellence have been the guiding principles of the deliberations of the consultations.

Key Recommendations

1. State Council of Higher Education (OSCHE): A State Council of Higher Education, in the lines of the NCHER, needs to be created. Financial provision must be made in the budget for creation of the council in the coming financial year. Many of the recommendations of the Task Force would be implemented by the OSCHE.

2. Delinking Higher Secondary (+2) from the ambit of Higher Education: The +2 classes need to be separated from the degree colleges. Budgetary support to augment infrastructure and funding from Rastriya Madhyamit Sikhsya Abhiyan (RMSA) may be used to make this a smooth transition.

3. Degree Colleges: All degree colleges should adopt semester system and choice based credit programmes. All vacant posts must be filled with permanent staff. Selected autonomous colleges may be made into branch campuses of universities. Teachers should be regularly evaluated to ensure accountability.

4. Universities: Model University Act. Statutes should be drafted so that universities may use their autonomy for better governance. All regular vacant positions of the universities should be filled up on a priority basis. Faculty need to be regularly evaluated to ensure accountability. Programmes of the universities need to be revamped and choice based credit system may be followed. Each university campus should have about 50 affiliated colleges and a few identified research centres. Each university must have up-to-date web site with all information about the university.

5. New State Universities and Branch Campuses: A number of new affiliating universities, unitary universities, branch campuses of existing universities, a new University of Management Education and a new State Open University have been recommended. Suggestions for locations of these institutions have been received in the consultation process after assessing the educational need. An expert committee may be formed to look in to these and come up with final locations based on the detailed project report based on feasibility.

6. Attract Private Edupreneurs: Private universities should be established through Acts passed by the state legislatures.

7. Set up Research Centres: Establishment of research centers of excellence in various areas of local relevance must be pursued and these should be affiliated with the existing universities and institutions of national importance such as IIT, NISER, IIIT etc. Central funding for the same must be vigorously pursued to strengthen the existing and planned research centers.

8. Enhance Quality of Education: All plans for expansion must have a major thrust on enhancing quality of education. Hence due care must be taken for developing skills of teachers for enhancing teaching-learning transaction, creating conducive academic environment, improving the learning infrastructure, putting technology enabled learning into practice wherever possible, reforming examination systems, need-based revision of curriculum, etc.

9. Engineering Colleges: The existing state funded engineering colleges need to be revamped and their vacant positions need to be filled at the earliest. In addition 5 new State Institutes of Technologies have been proposed in the model of NIT with a focus on post-graduate education to mainly cater to the faculty needs in the state.

10. Medical Education: By 2022 each of the 13 undivided districts of Odisha should have one operational medical college, be it private, state funded, or PPP based. The three major medical colleges of the state should be upgraded to affiliating Health University status so that institutions in medical and allied subjects such as nursing and pharmacy etc. can be brought under their fold. A Rural Health Practitioner (RMP) program should be introduced in conjunction with all district hospitals to address the critical shortage of medical practitioners in the rural areas of the state.

11. Skill and Vocational Education: Odisha should create a community college system imparting skills that are in demand and providing opportunities for distance education, nonconventional career progression, developmental education, and continuous learning.

12. Education Development Fund: Financial mechanisms need to be devised so that all deserving students can access the opportunity to pursue higher education and finance should not be a constraint. Similarly no educational institution should suffer from lack of long-term low interest capital to pursue their goals of development. For this purpose, Education Development Fund should be set up along the lines of the Educational Financing Corporation being contemplated by the central government to enable infrastructure development as well as provide study loans.

13. From Mineral Resources to Human Resources: All private and public sector companies that are using Odisha’s mineral resources must be encouraged to contribute in creating higher education institutions.

14. Public Private Partnership: Encourage public-private partnership mode to set up institutes of higher learning. The proposed OSCHE needs to have a mechanism to monitor and regulate such efforts for the larger interest of all the stakeholders.

15. Financial Implication: The Task Force proposes that the State funding for Higher Education must increase to meet the cost of proposed expansion. The Task Force has estimated resource requirement of about 55000 crores over a period of 12 years to implement its recommendations at current prices. Similarly it is estimated that similar amounts may be generated through private sector projects and centrally funded projects.

16. Taking advantage of the Central Government Schemes: Taking advantage of the central government’s ambitious plan to achieve 30% GER by 2020, the state should seek all available resources under different schemes such as those for establishment of National Innovation University, IIM, National Institute of Design, Model colleges in Educationally Backward Districts, Tribal University etc. Besides all effort must be made to emphasize the special need of the state to develop its infrastructure in the remote tribal areas and priority funding must be.

Phases of Implementation

The Task Force proposes the following plan for implementation of the above recommendations:

i. Restoration and Preparation for Expansion (2010-12)

a. Separation of +2 from higher education and integration in School Education
b. Filling up of vacancies in regular positions
c. Setting up of Model colleges in educationally backward districts
d. Initiate the establishment State Council of Higher Education and other legislative
actions needed to carry out the recommendations.
e. Set up communication laboratories and high speed broad band internet access
f. Set up Management Information System and e-admission
g. Prepare ground for rapid expansion

ii. Rapid Expansion (2012-17)

a. Set up new affiliating Universities and institutions
b. Set up Unitary Universities by up-gradation of existing institutions
c. Set up branch campuses
d. Take initial steps for setting up research centres

iii. Consolidation (2017-22)

a. Expand Technology Enabled Learning
b. Strengthen quality initiatives
c. Strengthen governance through State Council (OSCHE)
d. Mobilisation of additional resource

The Task Force has taken note of the hopes and aspirations generated through the whole process of its activities. The major recommendations based on the inputs received from the stake-holders centre around three important areas: i) Creation of new institutions, ii) financing of higher education and iii) bringing governance reforms. Hence the Task Force recommends to set up a committee to advise the Government to work out further details.

5 comments June 25th, 2010

ICFAI University bill passes in Odisha assembly with minor ammendments

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) University Bill received the green signal of the Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) today.

… Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Higher Education piloted the Bill, which was introduced in the Monsoon Session of the Thirteenth Assembly.

Mr.Mishra agreed few changes in the Bill and it was passed after discussion.

… According to latest accommodation, two Members of the House and Secretary of the Department of Higher Education(DHE) will in the Board of Management(BOM) of the University.

Mr.Mishra also agreed to the proposal for granting concession to students belonging to ST, SC and OBC students.

Assembly asked the ICFAI authorities to prepare Fee Structure on the Guidelines of University Grants Commission (UGC) and other regulatory bodies.
Similarly the Endowment Fund will be raised to Rs.5 crore, which was Rs.3 crore.

… With the Bill cleared , now the Hyderabad-based ICFAI would invest Rs 150 crore in setting up a university in Odisha.

The university would have strength of about 1,500 students and offer courses in various disciplines like engineering, management, law, science and humanities. 

… ICFAI has identified 30 acres of land between Bhubaneswar and Khurda for setting up its proposed university.

2 comments June 24th, 2010

Two Ekalavya Schools to come up in Malkangiri and Nuapada; Total in Odisha goes to 13

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

… the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has already showed green signal for setting up of two such schools one at Malkangiri and another at Nuapada. Presently, there are 11 such schools in the State of which 10 are operating in tribal areas and the rest one has been set up Ramfilo in Jajpur district.

It is to be noted here that education is imparted to students from Class VI to +2 in these residential schools. There are 210 seats each in both +2 Science and Commerce streams of these schools. The Central Governments provides Rest 12 crore for establishment of each such school.

June 23rd, 2010

Odisha Chief Secretary proposes government medical colleges at Balasore and Bolangir

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

Chief Secretary Mr.Mishra along with Balangir has also suggested setting up another Government Medical College at Balasore.

He said at present there are 3 Government Medical Colleges at Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla in Sambalpur.

There are 3 private Medical Colleges at Bhubaneswar and Hi-Tech Medical College has been allowed to set up a Medical College at Rourkela.

Central University of Odisha has been requested to set up a Medical College at Koraput.

Sahayog Foundation has shown keen interest to set up a Medical College at Keonjhar.

Ministry of Steel has been approached for a Medical College funded by SAIL at Rourkela by upgrading Ispat General Hospital (IGH).

Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL) is setting up a Medical College at Talcher.

So a Government Medical College at Balangir seems the only option available.

With another Medical College at Balasore, there will be harmonious spread of Medical Colleges all over Odisha, felt the top most administrator of the state.

The proposal is pending with the Chief Minister and he will take the final call on the issue, said sources.

What about Kalahandi? The WODC medical college there is stuck for some time. The Odisha government should consider taking over what has already been constructed and make it a government medical college too.

If a medical college in Kalahandi is also made and all the above mentioned medical colleges come through then the following 11 undivided districts (out of 13) will have at least one medical college: Cuttack, Ganjam, Sambalpur, Puri, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Balangir, Kalahandi, Sundergarh and Balasore. The only two that will be left out are: Baudha-Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj. They can be addressed in the next round.

June 21st, 2010

IIMC to become a university and offer degree courses and have 4 more branches; Odisha should pursue upgrading of the branch in Dhenkanal

Following is an excerpt from a report in India Today.

… The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) is all set to become a full-fledged university and will offer degree courses from next year.

Diploma students seeking admission in the current session are likely to have the option to continue the two-year post-graduate courses from next year. Interviews for the one-year courses will begin on Monday.

… The IIMC will offer two new two-year post-graduate diploma courses in development journalism, and corporate communication and media management.

The course material for turning the existing one-year diploma courses such as English journalism, advertising and electronic journalism into a two- year course has also been prepared.

To make the two-year advanced post-graduate diploma courses equivalent to an MA degree, the information and broadcasting ministry wrote to the HRD ministry.

… This will enable students to go into research while filling the gap of getting trained manpower in academics, teaching and the media industry.

Four new regional centres are also coming up in J&K, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Kerala. IIMC also has a centre at Dhenkanal in Orissa.

This would mean that the current combined student strength of 372 at Delhi and Dhenkanal would go up to 935 in the next few years with the addition of 200 students at the four new centres.

Soni asked the officials to not repeat the same courses in all IIMC branches. "For example, proposed IIMC Mizoram can have a course on animation, instead of repeating courses offered in Delhi," she said.

Adding graduate courses would cost the IIMC over Rs 45 crore. The minister asked officials to go liberal with funding to bring the institutions on a par with world class universities.

The Odisha government should pursue upgradation of IIMC Dehenkanal and make sure that it is not inferior to the new ones that are being made. In particular it should offer additional land and together with IIMC Dhenkanal officials make a plan of expansion and pursue it with the central minister of I & B Ms. Ambika Soni.

June 21st, 2010

Bhubaneswar Odisha a favorite for second campuses of Business Schools

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 comments June 21st, 2010

Odisha plans a power management institute along the lines of NPTI and PMI

From http://www.npti.in/about.html:

National Power Training Institute (NPTI) has been set up by the Government of India under the Ministry of Power, to function as the National Apex Body for Human Resources Development of Indian Power Sector. The Corporate Office of NPTI is located at NPTI Complex, Sector-33, Faridabad -121 003 (Haryana). It operates on an all India basis through its Institutes in the different regions/power zones of the country viz.. Neyveli. Durgapur, New Delhi, Nagpur, Guwahati, Faridabad and Bangalore.

From http://pmintpc.com/interface/about_us_overview.shtml:

The Power Management Institute (PMI) was set up by NTPC in recognition of the vital role that management development has to play, in the context of the challenges associated with the growth of the Indian Power Sector. The Institute is involved in the training and development of middle and senior level personnel not only from the power sector but from organizations outside the sector also.

… The institute’s integrated campus at Noida boasts of modern infrastructure and facilities.

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

Keeping in view the huge manpower requirement for the upcoming power plants of the independent power producers (IPPs) in Orissa, the state government is mulling to set up a Power Management Institute on the lines of the National Power Training Institute (NPTI).

All the IPPs have assured their support to the state government for this institute. To implement the project, the state government would form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with IPPs as stake holders.

The location, investment, intake capacity and other relevant details are yet to be worked out as things are at a preliminary stage.P K Jena, the state energy secretary, said, "The state government is planning to set up a power management institute on the lines of NPTI. The proposed institute is still at a conceptual stage and a concept note is being prepared by the state government in this connection."

"The power management institute will offer diploma as well as degree courses in engineering. The institute will primarily focus on various areas pertaining to the power sector", he added.

The objective behind setting up this institute is to prepare skilled and semi-skilled manpower for the upcoming power projects.It may be noted that as many as 27 IPPs have inked MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with the state government. All these 27 IPPs have a cumulative generation capacity of 32,420 MW.These power projects are set to generate around 50,000 direct jobs besides creating indirect employment for 150,000 people.

The page http://www.orissa.gov.in/energy/Mou-IPP/MoU_IPP1.htm lists 21 of the 27 MOUs that have been signed. We reproduce that list below.

4 comments June 20th, 2010

Call4care and Sahyog Foundation’s plan for medical colleges in Keonjhar and Jagatpur in Odisha

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer. 

The State Government on Saturday decided to provide 20 acres of land free of cost and Rs 10 crore as incentive to Sahayog Healthcare and Research Foundation for its proposed 650-bedded medical college and hospital at Keonjhar. The city based foundation has estimated to spend Rs 80 crore for the project.

… It is to be noted that the Foundation had earlier signed an MoU with the State Government. The Foundation had given proposal of setting up of two medical colleges and hospitals, one at Keonjhar and the other at Jagatpur near Cuttack.

It was known that the Foundation would set up Jagatpur medical collage and hospital at its own cost. The Government would not give any land or financial incentive for the project.

A medical college in Keonjhar is Godsend. But the number "80 crores" and "650 beds" does not add up. Making a medical college costs much more. Also, in an earlier report that in Business Standard (see also https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3900 ) different numbers were reported. So with doubts in my mind, I looked for any additional information on this foundation. I came across the following links: 

• The company Call for Care (web page at http://www.call4care.org/ ) which is mentioned as a part of the Sahyog Foundation
• The linked in page of Mr. Rajat Mohanty ( http://in.linkedin.com/pub/rajat-mohanty/21/706/52b ) which says he is the Regional Manager at Call for care( of Sahyoga foundation).
• The supposed web page of Sahyog foundation at http://www.sahyagoaindia.org/ which did not work when I checked (Note: A foundation which is planning to make 2 medical colleges should not be listing a web site which does not work)
• The address of the foundation at Sahyog Foundation, 2nd floor, Plot – 6, Unit III, Kharvel Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha – 751001, (O) +91-674-2390033

I sincerely hope that this is for real. Unfortunately, the non-working website of the foundation http://www.sahyagoaindia.org/ is a warning bell. Also the working web site of its unit http://www.call4care.org does not list the management of the foundation and their background. It does have a list of doctors that they say are part of the program and it lists some health insurance products.

June 20th, 2010

Vedanta University tries to nudge the Odisha government to action by threatening to move out of state

Following is a report by Kalpana Pathak from sify.com.

The estimated $3-bn Vedanta University was to start Phase-I by mid-2011 but is facing stiff opposition from locals.

The Anil Agarwal Foundation’s plan to set up a Rs 15,000- crore varsity in Puri (Orissa), called Vedanta University, has come a cropper. The management is now in talks with two southern states for alternative land to set up the varsity.

The Anil Agarwal Foundation’s Vedanta University is modeled on Stanford University and aims to be a worldclass, multi-disciplinary university with students from across India and around the world. However, the varsity, which was to begin operations by mid-2011, has not even started the basic infrastructure work on the land due to stiff opposition from locals and lack of political support.

… "We sought support from the state government but it is silent. We agreed to set up the university on government’s invitation but now we are very disappointed. We even revised our initial plans of having the campus on 8,000 to 6,000 acres," admits an official from the university who did not wish to be named. The university board has managed to acquire around 4,000 acres of land so far.

A director of a local institute told Business Standard: "The university concept as such is a good one and considering the varsity is facing stiff opposition from locals, the foundation should look for a smaller piece of land and begin operations."

The Foundation says if it’s not able to set up the university in Orissa, the land acquired could be made into an extended arm of the university which, could be housed outside Orissa.

The Foundation and the state government in 2006, had signed a memorandum of understanding to create the University. In July 2009, the government of Orissa passed a bill to allow the massive university to be set up and function with autonomy. The university being built with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore has plans to come up in three phases. Phase one was to be operational by mid-2011 with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore. The first academic session at the university was to begin in 2009 but the project has been delayed for over two years due to land acquisition tussle with the local residents of Puri. With further delays, the university could take longer to get operational.

To begin with, the university expects to start operations with around 1,000 students in the arts and science streams. The student intake, however, will grow steadily to reach an ultimate goal of 100,000 students. The university board however, is still working on the modalities involving admission and fee structure.

The university has awarded construction contracts of the academic buildings as well as the hospital at the project site to companies like Larsen & Toubro, Shapoorji Pallonji, Ahluwalia, B E Billimoria and Simplex. Architects Ayers Saint Gross of Baltimore, USA, have prepared the master plan of the University. Few international scholars like Will Chase, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Sam Pitroda are said to have evinced interest in the project.

The campus will have a super specialty hospital, which will answer a long standing need for providing comprehensive and specialized patient care for the people of Orissa and eastern India. Both the University and the hospital are ‘not-for-profit’ institutions. World-renowned hospital architects are developing the design for the hospital, Perkins and Will from USA. The university will also establish research parks to promote science and technology-based entrepreneurship and support an innovation-driven incubator. E-learning programmes will also be launched in future.

At this point, I am not sure the state government is at fault. The state government has passed the Vedanta University Bill. The construction and further land acqusition is stopped by the environmental ministry of the central government (see here and here), and the high court case. I think for the latter Vedanta University Project and its official bear some responsibility as it seems that in their haste to speed up the process of land acquisition, they might not have dotted the i’s at the right time.

Nevertheless, as per the reported recommendations of the Lokpal, the issue is mostly technical. I hope both get resolved soon and the progress is resumed.

One thing the state government can do now is to initiate a dialog with the PM, HRD M and Ministry of Environment to sort out the environmental issues at the earliest. On its part Vedanta University Project should start taking actions as laid out in its act. It should also seriously consider starting some graduate programs at the earliest.

10 comments June 15th, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following is from another article in tathya.in.

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

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

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

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

Similarly, there is no Vedanta named higher educational institution. 

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

The Jesuit Society of India has established the XIMB.

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

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

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

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

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

This includes the various Loyola colleges. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

13 comments June 9th, 2010

Odisha’s second flying training institute being explored in Rangeilunda near Berhampur

Following is an excerpt from a PTI report.

Plans are afoot to develop Orissa’s second flying training institute at Rangeilunda airstrip near here.

The ministry of Civil Aviation wants to use Rangeilunda airstrip as a flying training institute. Binodini Devi, a senior captain from the ministry, visited the airstrip recently and discussed the project with engineers of the works department here, Ganjam district collector V K Pandian said.

… A senior pilot of the ministry also visited the site last week and asked the works engineer to develop it as a Visual Flight Rule (VFR) airstrip and to provide at least two rooms to conduct the pilot training institute.

"We have agreed to provide all necessary infrastructure facilities to the ministry to use Rangeilunda airstrip as a flying training institute," K Pandian said.

3 comments May 30th, 2010

Odisha signs MOUs with 8 companies for Industrial Training Centers (ITCs)

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

To bridge the gap between the available skilled manpower and demand from the upcoming industries, the Orissa government today signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with eight mega industries for setting up quality Industrial Training Centres (ITCs) in the state.

… The companies which inked the agreement with the government are Orissa Power Generation Corporation (Hemagiri), Tata Power Ltd (Banki), Emami Paper Mills (Balgopalpur), RSB Metaltech (P) Ltd (Kalyansinghpur), Surrendra Mining Industries Ltd (Bonei), Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd (Teleibani), Uttam Utkal Steels (Jhumpura), Ind-Barath Energy (Utkal) Ltd (Lakhanpur).

Though twenty seven industries and public sector undertakings had evinced interest to set up ITCs in the state, eight have signed the MoU in the first phase.

The remaining industries are expected to sign MoUs with the state government in phases.

As per the MoU, the government would identify and transfer the land required for setting up the ITCs. The sponsoring companies would have to develop the required infrastructure in those centres as per the norms of National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT). However, the mega industries would have to pay for the land whether it is government or private land.

… the admission to the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and degree engineering colleges has increased from 30,000 to 1.2 lakh per annum in the last decade.

1 comment May 25th, 2010

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

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

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

2 comments May 23rd, 2010

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

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

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

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

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

May 18th, 2010

Odisha government finally approaches SAIL for a medical college in Rourkela

Update: Following is from Samaja.

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

Finally it seems Tarun Kanti Mishra has come to the rescue of thousands of citizens’ genuine demand for a Medical College at Rourkela.

Chief Secretary has taken up the issue with the Secretary of the Ministry of Steel.

Citizens were demanding for the ESIC Medical College in the Steel City for more than two years.

However ESIC decided to set up the Medical College here as the State Government offered land on the outskirts of the Capital City.

… While Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has proposed to up grade Bokaro Steel Plants’ hospital to a Medical College, similar move is needed feel, Mr.Mishra.

So the Chief Secretary discussed the matter with Union Secretary Steel to set up a Medical College at Rourkela under the aegis of Ispat General Hospital (IGH).

IGH is an excellent hospital and has lot of facilities along with top medical personnel.

Now the State Government will take up the issue with Chief Minister batting for the same, said sources.

Chief Minister is likely to discuss the issue with Union Minister Steel in this regard, said sources.

For long we have been urging the Odisha government to take up with SAIL for a medical college. Finally the Odisha government came to senses. I guess better late than never. In particular we pointed out that since SAIL is making a medical college in Bokaro, it should be pursued for one in Rourkela.  Following are some pointers regarding the medical college SAIL is making in Bokaro.

(i) News articles that mention this: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070226/asp/jamshedpur/story_7441681.asp

(ii) The web page of the Bokaro Ispat Educational trust which talks about this: http://www.bietrust.com/

(iii) The site http://www.hsccltd.com/secured%20projects.htm which mentions that its is doing a pre-feasibility study for SAIl medical college in Bokaro.

Also, some time back there was news that SAIL Rourkela was looking for renewing its mining lease. If it is still hanging, then it makes it a perfect time to broach this topic with SAIL management and the Steel Ministry in Delhi. (http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=8891 )

 Some of our earlier articles mentioning this point are at: 

• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/59.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/96.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/97.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/168.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1101.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1134.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1172.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1465.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3108.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4022.

10 comments May 17th, 2010