Foundation Stone laid for IIT Bhubaneswar

Following is from the PIB report http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47448.

Foundation Stone of the Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT ), Bhubaneswar, was laid in Orissa today. Shri Arjun Singh, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, was to lay the Foundation Stone, but due to unavoidable reasons he couldn’t go to Orissa and the ceremony was held in his absentia at KANSAPADA ( Khudupur-Taraboi Road ) near Jatni Block Office, Khordha.

This new IIT at Bhubaneswar is part of the 8 new IITs that have been established in the country by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Ministry. Orissa is also to get a new Central University under The Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 which was promulgated by the President of India on 15.01.2009.

Following is the full text of the speech of Shri Arjun Singh, delivered on his behalf :

“ IITs are our national pride and owe their existence to the scientific temper and disposition of our First Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. Making India, the knowledge hub of the world was a cherished dream of our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. Way back in 1951, the Government of India, under the leadership of Panditji, planned to have four such institutes of excellence in the field of Engineering and Technology. The first amongst four such institutes (one for each zone) came up at Kharagpur in eastern region.

During the Eleventh Plan Period, the Government of India has decided to have eight new IITs, including IIT Bhubaneswar. IIT Bhubaneswar was one of the new IITs to become operational with 120 students in July, 2008. It is also heartening to note that the mother of the IIT system, IIT Kharagpur, is mentoring this new IIT. I would like to compliment Prof. Damodar Acharyaji, Director, IIT, Kharagpur who has made all possible efforts to mentor this IIT. The necessary facilities are being created in IIT Kharagpur Extension Campus at Bhubaneswar so that the students of IIT Bhubaneswar could have their education from Bhubaneswar itself from the forthcoming academic session starting from July 2009. IIT Bhubaneswar will offer science based engineering graduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes of international standard in various disciplines.

The State of Orissa is a resource-rich state and we expect that IIT, Bhubaneswar will act as a catalyst for the rapid industrialization of the State. Indian Institutes of Technology are known the world over for imparting quality and relevant education to students. I am confident that this new IIT also carry forward the great tradition of IITs.

I am happy to note that the Government of Orissa has allotted 935 acres of land for this IIT. The State Government has also agreed to provide adequate facilities of water, electricity and road connectivity. I appreciate the support of the Government of Orissa to have this IIT in Bhubaneswar and would like to specially thank Shri Naveen Patnaikji for his support for the venture.

I take this opportunity to mention that we had made an assessment of various States about availability of degree and diploma level courses per lakh population in the field of technical education. We find that the availability of degree and diploma level courses per lakh population in Orissa is much below the national average. This obviously means that the regional imbalance in respect of technical education needs to be corrected. It is in this context that the setting up of an IIT in Bhubaneswar is a right and timely step. I am sure the Government of Orissa will derive maximum benefits from the Central Government schemes for educational advancement of this State.

The Government of India in its Eleventh Plan has given a major thrust to education. The Central Government has taken several initiatives in respect of new institution building. These include setting up of 30 new Central Universities, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, eight new IITs, seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), two new Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs), 10 new National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and 20 new IIITs. For this unprecedented expansion, the credit goes to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, who has been kind enough to accord very high priority to the education sector and provided a nine fold increase in the budgetary outlays for the higher education during the XIth Plan as compared to Xth Plan.

Capacity building in the diverse fields of basic science, engineering and technology, architecture, management will empower besides providing opportunities to the youth. It has been decided to launch a massive National Initiative for Skill Development under which it is proposed to give assistance for the establishment of 1000 new polytechnics. It is also proposed to upgrade infrastructure facilities of existing diploma level Government and Government aided polytechnics. In order to attract women in polytechnic education, we are proposing to provide financial assistance for the construction of women’s hostels in 500 polytechnics.

The Government is also going to incentivise the States for starting new Universities, besides giving a one time grant to the States on a matching basis to develop the infrastructure of State technical institutions. With these initiatives, we hope to increase access (by 5% GER during XI Plan) with equity and excellence.

8. I am happy to say that the State of Orissa is also getting its due share. We have decided in this Plan Period to have in Orissa State, one Central University, one National University aiming for world class standards, one IIIT, and several Polytechnics in those districts which currently do not have a Polytechnic. The Government and Private Engineering Colleges will also be getting opportunity to upgrade their facilities through TEQIP. This will provide our youth in the State with vocational and professional educational opportunities to realize their full potential.”

————————–

KKP/ska

February 12th, 2009

President of India issues ordinance establishing 15 central universities; one in Orissa to be called “Central University of Orissa”

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

New Delhi, Jan. 16: President Pratibha Patil has promulgated an ordinance allowing the government to establish 15 new central universities despite last-minute objections by the National Knowledge Commission that the ordinance would hurt higher education.

The President signed the ordinance late last night even as the commission headed by Sam Pitroda tried to convince the Prime Minister and senior government officials against the move.

Patil’s signature triggered a chain of events today that saw the human resource development ministry launch a process of selection of vice-chancellors within hours.

It has also set off fireworks between the commission and the ministry, which the commission believes is keen to retain control over universities while officially calling them autonomous.

… The government is keen to start classes at the universities in the 2009 academic session, said the ministry note to the President.

The ministry, a top HRD official said, will bring the ordinance before both Houses when Parliament meets briefly in February. “We want the ordinance to be cleared by both Houses in the narrow slot for which the Parliament is meeting so that we can start classes from 2009,” the official said.

An ordinance needs parliamentary ratification within six months.

One of the above mentioned 15 universities will be in Orissa; Earlier the Orissa government recommended the Koraput area as the site of this university. As per the bill, available here, the one in Orissa will be called Central University of Orissa.

An earlier copy of the bill (before Goa University was taken out) is available here. There was last minute criticism of the bill and request to not promulgate it as an ordinance by the National Knowledge Commission. See news reports on this here and here. But the President promulgated the ordinance anyway.

4 comments January 18th, 2009

Koraput as a location for a central university

Now that Koraput has been announced by the CM as well as in the assembly as the location for a central university, lets be happy about it. I know some of the other districts who wanted the central university to be there may have reasons to be unhappy. My suggestion to them, especially for people (and my friends) from Kalahandi, is to continue their efforts for a new central university and pursue other avenues such as a state university and a BPIET. 

Now celebrating Koraput, following are some good aspects of Koraput.

• Koraput area is a cluster of several towns which could become a sizeable metropolitan area in the near future. As per the population numbers in this site and this site the towns around Koraput and their population are: Jeypore: 84,136 (20 km from Koraput); Koraput: 39,523; Sunabeda: 62,706 (20 km from Koraput); and Damanjodi: 8,475. The total may now surpass 200,000.
• The Kolab resorvoir is a picturesque area for a central university. The university is proposed to be between Koraput at Sunabeda on the bank of this resorvoir.

December 19th, 2008

Land identified in Koraput for Central University; Branch of IGNTU proposed for Phulbani

The following is from Samaja.

It is high time people of Kalahandi go to the CM for higher education institutes in Kalahandi. In particular they should demand a state university and a centrally funded BPIET (Biju Patnaik Inst of Engineering and Technology) in the line of SLIET and ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury IET.  The people of Kalahandi need to be strategic in terms of what they can get at this time. For example, UCE Burla supporters initially, for several years, were going after a deemed university status. It was going very slowly. Once they switched to demanding for state unitary university status, things happened fast. Similarly, people of Kalahandi should realize that they should not put all their egg in one basket.  IMHO, shifting of the location from Koraput to Kalahandi after the location is announced by the CM and mentioned in the assembly is unlikely, and I hope I am wrong, but a new central university in Kalahandi has a low chance of happening soon. So as a practical matter people of Kalahandi should, for now, ask for a state university and a BPIET. They don’t have to retract their demand for a central university; that can continue.

16 comments December 19th, 2008

State universities needed in Orissa interior districts (Bhawanipatna, Phulbani, Angul and Keonjhar) and Rourkela

In the following figure the red dots indicate where the current universities in Orissa are, including the ones that have been announced, such as the proposed central university in Koraput. As the map illustrates, all the existing and planned universities are in the periphery of the state and the interior districts lack university level higher education opportunities. This needs to be corrected by establishing state universities at the blue marked points: Bhawanipatna, Phulbani, Angul and Keonjhar.  In addition, the Rourkela metropolitan area, the second largest metropolitan area in Orissa,  needs a regular university. Neither BPUT nor NIT Rourkela serve the purpose. Thus a regular university needs to be established in Rourkela.

October 20th, 2008

Cabinet approves 12 new central universities (one in Orissa) and four upgradations

Following is the PIB report on this from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=43391.

The Government today gave its approval for establishment of 12 new Central Universities in 12 States and taking over and conversion of 4 existing State Universities.

A new Central University is to be established in each of the twelve States, namely, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, with Central Government funding, at such location within each State as may be notified by the Central Government.

Further, the Cabinet also approved the proposal for taking over and conversion of Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar in the State of Madhya Pradesh, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur in the State of Chhattisgarh, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar in the State of Uttarakhand, and Goa University, Goa into Central Universities, with Central Government funding.

The Government proposes to introduce the Central Universities Bill, 2008, in Parliament during the forthcoming session.

In Orissa, the state government has proposed that this university be established in Koraput.

October 3rd, 2008

Some central universities to come up earlier than the others?

The following excerpt from a news item from the statesman is confusing. It talks about MHRD starting 6 central universities. It is not clear what is happening with the other 24 proposed central universities.

The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry has decided to allot Rs 6,200 crore to six states including West Bengal, for setting up Central universities. 

The funds would be disbursed to the respective states after the plots are identified. Funds will be provided under the eleventh five-year plan, HRD ministry officials said.  …

Other than West Bengal, universities will be set up in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttaranchal. These states have already identified lands for the proposed institute and have accordingly informed the HRD ministry. A senior official of the ministry said the universities are supposed to come up on 700 to 1,000 acre of land, which are easily accessible.

… The proposed residential university will lay more emphasis on courses in foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Subjects like engineering, medical science, computer science, arts and management will also be taught in the university. Students from Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Tibet and Singapore are expected to seek admission to the university. The university will also offer courses in Buddhist  philosophy, Chinese philosophy and Tibetan philosophy.

September 20th, 2008

WCCUs to be called National Universities?

Update: See http://knowledgecommission.gov.in/downloads/documents/Letter_World_Class_Universities.pdf for National Knowledge Commission’s take on this.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.

An all-India common entrance examination, a student-count not exceeding 12,000, the best of faculty with incentives over and above regular pay, a curriculum revised every three years, a semester system, private sector funding, vice-chancellors with at least decade-long teaching experience, collaboration with universities and institutes in India and abroad, academic creativity free from red tapism — all this and more will go into the making of 14 World Class Universities (WCUs) very shortly.

And these sweeping changes are also likely to be applied to all existing universities and 16 Central universities that have recently been approved by the Cabinet. What will change, however, is the nomenclature for the 14 WCUs. Officials say these are now likely to be christened National Universities and the related legislation will be called the National Universities Act.

The basic blueprint for the WCUs has been formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the first round of discussions, held in New Delhi today, involved academicians, experts, officials from the Human Resource Development Ministry, UGC and Planning Commission.

“There was a very interactive discussion on the WCUs and a major viewpoint emerged. Participants felt there should be a similar legislation for all Central universities, including the 16 which just got Cabinet approval, and all existing universities. The view was that there should be no hierarchy or disparity in standards amongst universities and the reforms and changes suggested for WCUs should be applied to all universities,” an official who attended the meeting told The Indian Express.

“There were strong reservations against the term ‘world class’ and it was decided they will be called National Universities instead,” the official said.

While more discussions will follow, sources said that the UGC and HRD Ministry hope to be ready with a legislation in time for the Parliament session. …

The WCUs are envisaged as unitary universities, like JNU, without any affiliation and multi-facility based, offering subjects ranging from natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to engineering, technology and medicine among others.

Promised autonomy in matters of admission of students and standards for selection, introduction and revision of contextual and innovative curricula, opening of new campuses and new programmes, intake of students, examinations and evaluation systems, faculty recruitment and national and international collaborations, the WCUs are planned as model institutes that will stand apart from existing universities.

That getting the best of faculty is high on the agenda for these new universities is apparent as the concept paper suggest that individuals with high quality research/training experience could be invited to join the faculty even if they have not applied for the job — as is also done in JNU. The universities, the paper says, should also be allowed to develop own hiring policies and pay higher emoluments and non-salary incentives over and above regular pay scales. The blueprint also recommends that private sector funding be permitted as long as it does not compromise academic integrity and autonomy of the university.

While the UGC’s earlier draft on WCUs did not quite impress the Prime Minister’s Office — it is keenly following the ambitious project — the new concept paper is said to have been found to be more “forward looking”. The legislation will also be so worded that it does not lead to rigid bureaucratic controls that stifle quality and creativity and spell out only “what to do” instead of “how to do”.

August 24th, 2008

People of Kalahandi up in arms for university: Dharitri

2 comments August 12th, 2008

Update on the HRD initiatives; location of 10 new NITs

Update: As per http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41316&kwd= possible location of 9 of the 10 NITs are:

? … Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

ï‚· The NIT at Goa   may also cater to the needs of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.

ï‚· Pudducherry or Andaman & Nicobar may have one common NIT, which will cater the needs of each.

Following are excerpts from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41190.

… The initiative to set up eight new Indian Institutes of Technology is on course with the first academic sessions starting in 2008 in six of the new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat . The session for IIT Orissa has already been started at lIT Kharagpur in July 2008 and classes will begin for IIT Punjab at lIT Delhi in Sept 2008. And the academic session for the other 4 new IITs, will begin during August 2008.

Out of the 7 new Indian Institutes of Management proposed the IIM at Shillong has already commenced its first academic session from July 2008. The remaining six IIMs will be established in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.

The government proposal to set up five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research is on schedule. Of these two IISERs at Pune and Kolkata were inaugurated in 2006-07 and are now fully functional, and the IISER Mohali started its first academic session in 2007-08. Two more IISERs at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will commence their first academic sessions in August, 2008.

Two Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs) are being set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada . Classes in both the new SPAs will begin with the academic session of 2008 through temporary campuses. The SPA Bhopal will be mentored by NIT Bhopal while the SPA at Vijayawada will be mentored by SPA, Delhi .

The strengthening of Polytechnics is under way with steps being taken to set up 1000 polytechnics (300 in Government Sector, 300 through PPP mode and 400 private polytechnics); Further 500 existing polytechnics are being expanded and the Community Polytechnics scheme being revamped and their number being increased from 669 to 1000.

Steps are being taken establish 10 new National Institutes of Technology. The likely location of these NITs will be in States/UTs which at present don’t have an NIT.

Sixteen Central Universities are being set up under the initiative seeking to established a Central University in states not having a Central University . Four existing universities; Sagar University in Madhya Pradesh, Bilaspur University in Chhatisgarh, Garhwal University in Uttrakhand and Goa University, are proposed to be taken over and upgraded as Central Universities. The remaining 12 new universities are to be set up in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kamataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

14 World Class Central Universities (WCCU), are proposed with the locations being firmed up in consultation with the Planning Commission. The State Governments have been requested to identify suitable land.

A total of 373 degree colleges will be set up in the districts having GER lower than the national average as identified by the UGC. Out of these districts, about 90 districts have been shortlisted which have less than 6% GER, have less than 4 colleges per lakh of population and are also minority concentration districts. It is proposed to fast-track the starting of the degree colleges in these shortlisted districts this year.

Twenty Indian Institutes of Information Technology are planned with NAASCOM having submitted a project report. The setting up of the IIITs under the PPP mode has been discussed with the States and most of the States agreed to tap not-for-profit private investment, while ensuring that PPP should not lead to any erosion of access to the poor sections of society.

Scholarships for College and University students, based on merit, to non-creamy layer students numbering about 2% of the. student population will be given to those who pass out from various intermediate boards. The scholarship will be Rs.l,000 per month for the first 2 years after which it will be of Rs.2000 per month for the balance period of the professional or other courses in Higher Education. Every year about 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls will benefit from the scheme.

The government is working on an Education Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme. It will be a Central Sector scheme for providing interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the educational loans taken by students belonging to "non-creamy" layer for pursuing professional education in India.

All the Central Educational Institutions are implementing OBC reservations as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 from this year onward on a staggered basis and the necessary funds have been released to all of them, after holding the meetings of the Empowered Committees. All the IITs, IIMs and the Central Universities that are covered under the Act have started giving reservations to OBCs in a staggered manner. As a result of the implementation of OBC reservations in this academic year, there is an increase of over 20500 in the intake capacity in the Central Educational Institutions.

The states and union territories that do not have NITs are:

1. Delhi
2. Uttarakhand
3. Goa
4. Dadra and nagar haveli
5. Pondicherry
6. Andaman and Nicobar islands
7. Lakshadweep
8. Meghalaya
9. Mizoram
10. Manipur
11. Nagaland
12. Arunachal Pradesh
13. Sikkim

So, I guess the majority of the 10 new NITs will be in these states. My guess would be 2, 3, 5, 8-13. (I skipped 1 because I wonder if there is any space left in proper Delhi for an NIT. The rest that I skipped, 4,6 and 7, are very remote as well as hard to reach places.)  That makes 9 NITs. It would be interesting to see where the 10th NIT will be located.

4 comments August 8th, 2008

CM writes to HRDM that the second central university be in Koraput

Following is from a news report in Statesman.

Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik suggested the establishment of the proposed Central university might be at Koraput and demanded for setting up IIT near Bhubaneswar to start as soon as possible.

In two separate missives to Union minister for human resources development Mr Arjun Singh today, the chief minister noted the establishment of proposed Central university at Koraput would reduce the existing disparity in education in the state. Maintaining that Koraput has been a backward region as far as education is concerned, Mr Patnaik said that besides 500 acres of land, the proposed site has water, power, road and rail connectivity.
"The Jeypore airstrip is just 30 km away from Koraput," the CM pointed out. "The Union government should send a technical team and start the university work soon," Mr Patnaik suggested.

He also put emphasis on the early set up of the IIT. The state government has identified 500 acres of land for this purpose and can make available more land. Assuring that the state government would provide all sorts of required support, the chief minister urged for early start of construction work.

7 comments August 6th, 2008

Eleventh Plan HRD distribution across states

Following is excerpted and corrected from http://darpg.nic.in/arpg-website/ChiefSectConf/PPT/HRD.ppt. (See also https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=1043.)

 * Not funded by MHRD.

 So Orissa could get 18 colleges (in 18 districts) and 11 polytechnics. Each of these colleges would be supported by GOI by upto Rs. 2.5 Crore or one-third cost with the balance being met by the State Government or Private participation.

May 15th, 2008

CM promises to write Delhi about central university in Kalahandi

Following is from a report in New Indian Express.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has assured a delegation from Kalahandi district that he will pressurise the Centre to set up a central university in Kalahandi district.

A 25-member delegation led by Minister of State for Law and Employment Pradipta Kumar Nayak met the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Tuesday. The delegation impressed upon the Chief Minister about the need for establishment of a central university in Kalahandi district as it is educationally backward.

The district has all infrastructure facilities for establishment of a central university and the demand has been pending since 1988, the delegation comprising former ministers Balabhadra Majhi, Himansu Sekhar Meher and legislator Pushpendra Singhdeo said.

After hearing from the delegation, Naveen assured that he will write a letter to Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry about setting up the varsity in Kalahandi.

3 comments May 8th, 2008

Foundation stone laid for National Tribal University in Madhya Pradesh: Original idea most likely came from Orissa CM

The idea  for a central tribal university was suggested by Orissa CM, on 24th October 2005, which the HRD minister had appreciated. Following is an excerpt from the press release issued by Orissa government at that time:

… In addition to this, Shri Patnaik also requested for establishment of a Central University for the KBK Region, which is one of the most backward regions in the country. He pointed out that there was a heavy concentration of the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste population in this region, which has a literacy rate below 50%. Shri Patnaik stated that setting up a Central University in the KBK region would go a long way in encouraging higher education among tribal population. He added that the university could also set up specialized centres for tribal development related studies, as tribal development was one of the biggest challenges facing the country today. Shri. Arjun Singh appreciated the rationale of having a Central University in the KBK region and sought a formal proposal in this regard from the State Government. He assured that this would receive high priority whenever the Central Government considers setting up of new central universities.

Orissa MPs also pursued it and we had sent detail proposal on it to the planning commission and HRD ministry and the PM. The similarity between the above goals and the goals of the tribal university in MP (given below) suggests that the HRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh might have stolen the idea of a central tribal university to his home state. We wrote to the Swaminadhan committee that recommended the setting up of a tribal university and also to MHRD regarding the timeline, but no response was given.  If the idea was indeed stolen, then it is a pity as such opportunistic behavior by the HRD ministry would discourage states from suggesting ideas.

Even though Orissa has been given a central university (other than the world class university), Orissa should continue pursuing its goal for a separate tribal central university for two reasons:

• The tribal university that Orissa wants in its KBK+ region was supposed to have multiple campuses like the one in Amar Kantak.
• It should have a significant percentage of seats reserved for tribals.

In any case, following is the PIB from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37584 about the foundation stone laying.

      A new chapter was added today in the field of higher education and research facilities for the tribal population in the country when Union Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Arjun Singh laid the foundation stone of a new Central University namely Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak in Anupur district, Madhya Pradesh.  The objects of the University shall include, inter-alia, promoting studies and research in tribal art, culture, tradition, language, custom, medicinal systems, forest based economic activities, including special studies in the flora and fauna, and advancements in technologies relating to natural resources of the tribal areas. It shall make special provisions for the promotion of educational, economic interests and welfare of the members belonging to the Scheduled Tribes.

Speaking on this occasion, Shri Arjun Singh said that this is an historical occasion and a moment of pride for the entire nation.  He said that this University will go a long way in providing new direction to the youth in tribal areas in meeting the challenges of the future through education and learning. This University will have live contact and coordination with other Central universities, tribal research institutions and other higher learning and research organisations and will make use of the available knowledge from every part of the country and the world to meet its solemn objectives. He said that it is necessary to have scientific temperament, aptitude for research and respect for human values and a true faith in science and knowledge.

 Shri Singh pointed out that the University will be developed into world-class institution of learning.  The jurisdiction of this University will extend to the whole country. The Minister said that University will be fully funded by the Central Government through the University Grants Commission like other Central Universities. The Minister said that it is necessary to have special attachment towards the local community and special focus on the development of the local tribal areas with full dedication and commitment so as to fully meet the objectives of this University. 

Referring to the inadequate participation of tribal community in higher education, the Minister said that it is a matter of serious concern as the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is only 6.61 compared to the national GER of  11.6. The GER of girls from the tribal population is even lower which is 4.69. He said that low access to higher education for the tribal youth puts them at disadvantage in higher studies. The Minister said that there is high concentration of tribal population in North Eastern states and in the area comprising parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. While North Eastern States have at least one Central University in each State, there is no Central University especially catering to the population in the other tribal concentrated areas.

The Minister said that the University has been named after late Smt. Indira Gandhi in recognition of her deep contribution and commitment for the welfare of tribals.  He said that present University will meet this requirement and will have the right to open regional centre and campus in desired areas. The Minister said that the Regional Campuses to be opened will be named after the great personalities of the concerned area like Veer Narain Singh, Goondadhur, Birsa Munda etc. so as to pay nation’s tribute to them.

He said that universities are generally established in big metros or urban areas and there are advantages of locating the universities in such areas. But the true flavour of the tribal University will come only if it is located in the midst of tribal areas. The very purpose of the establishment of this University is to make it a prime mover for development in the tribal areas hitherto neglected. He said that the seat of the University has been chosen to be a Central point in the tribal areas stretching between Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.  He said that Amarkantak is a great pilgrim centre as well as source of the two important rivers of the country namely Narmada and Sone.

Shri Arjun Singh thanked the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, for ensuring adequate land and proper facilities of electricity and water for this prestigious project.  

The Minister hoped that the University will soon select all its managing authorities. He pointed out that the Act of this University has a special provision to ensure adequate representation of Scheduled Tribes in various bodies of the University. The Minister said that though in 11^th Five Year Plan, the Central Government is opening several institutions in the field of higher education like IITs, NITs and Management Institutions, but this tribal University will have a pivotal role among them in higher education. The Minister called upon everybody to contribute for the development of this great institution of learning.

The messages of Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, and Smt. Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson were also read out on this occasion. Dr. S.N. Subbarao, noted Gandhian and founder of National Service Scheme presided over the programme.  Shri Vijay Shah, Minister for Forest and Scheduled Tribe Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Smt. Jamuna Devi, Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Shri Suresh Pachauri, former Union Minister, Shri Charan Das Mahant, former Minister in Government of Madhya Pradesh, , Shri Dalpat Singh Parastay, Member of Parliament (Shadol Constituency), Shri R.P. Agrawal, Secretary, Dept. of Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India were among those present on this occasion.

AKS/HB/VL/GK 

3 comments April 20th, 2008

IIT in Orissa, a world class central university and another central university (hopefully in KBK) announced by the center : PIB

Following is from a PIB press release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=36955.

The 11^th Five Year Plan, endorsed by the National Development Council in December, 2007, envisages, inter-alia, establishment of the following new higher education institutions in the Central sector:

A          Technical Education Institutions

·         8 Indian Institutes of Technology

·         7 Indian Institutes of Management

B          Central Universities

·         14  Universities aiming at world class standards

·         16  Universities in States which do not have a Central University at present

2.         Out of the above new institutions, location decisions had already been taken in the case of 4 IITs and one IIM. Hon’ble Prime Minister has since approved the proposals made by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, for the location of the remaining institutions as per the details given below.

Location of new IITs/ IIMs.

3.         Location of 4 IITs  (in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh),  and one IIM (at Shillong) have already been announced. The Central Government has now decided to locate the remaining 4 IITs and 6 IIMs in the following States :–

IITs –  Orissa, Madhya Pradesh (Indore), Gujarat and  Punjab

 IIMs –    Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Uttarakhand and Haryana In addition, it is also proposed to convert the Institute of Technology of the Banaras Hindu University   into an IIT.  Admission to this Institute is already based on the  IIT – Joint Entrance Examination.

Location of 14 World Class Universities

4.         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.  Accordingly, it has been decided  to locate one such University in each of the 14 States/Region  as shown  in the  enclosed List, and to request concerned State Governments to identify adequate land in or near the  selected  cities.

Location of 16 Central Universities in Uncovered States        

5.         16 States which do not have a  Central University at present, and which will get one  Central University each  in the  11^th Plan are  Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa.   Of these, in three States, existing State Universities will be taken over by the Central Government and converted into Central Universities. These   three Universities are   Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar (in Madhya Pradesh), Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur (in Chhattisgarh), and Goa University.

6.         Establishment of IITs, IIMs and Central Universities in the above States is subject to State Governments offering adequate   land at suitable locations, free of cost, for the purpose.  Each of the concerned State Government is being requested to offer land accordingly.  Actual establishment of these institutions would however depend, among other things, on how quickly the concerned State Governments respond  by allotting adequate land at suitable locations.

State-wise List of Cities Identified for locating 14 Central Universities during the  XIth Plan  which would aim to achieve  world class  standards

State                                        City

1.         Maharashtra                  –          Pune

2.         West Bengal                 –           Kolkata

3.         Tamil Nadu                    –           Coimbatore

4.         Karnataka                     –           Mysore

5.         Andhra Pradesh             –           Vishakapatanam

6.         Gujarat                          –           Gandhinagar

7.         Rajasthan                      –           Jaipur

8.         Bihar                             –           Patna

9.         Madhya Pradesh            –           Bhopal

10.        Kerala                           –           Kochi

11.        Punjab                          –           Amritsar

12.        Orissa                           –           Bhubaneshwar

13.        Uttar Padesh                 –           Greater NOIDA

14.        North Eastern Region  –  Guwahati

                                                            …..

Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD

PIB, New Delhi; Chatra 08, 1930,March 28, 2008

HB/VL/SB/conference28.3

5 comments March 28th, 2008

Arjun Singh on Devious mode: Tathya.in

Following is  from http://tathya.in/.

It has been proved time and again that Arjun Singh has no love for Orissa.

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister has always been unkind to the state, which is lagging behind on education front among other states.

And he is nicely talking to Naveen Patnaik and made him feel that the Centre is all out for Orissa to dole out largesse.

Chief Minister Mr.Patnaik and HRD Minister Mr.Singh had a meeting on 24 January at New Delhi.

Mark the words of Mr.Singh:

Orissa had a very good case for setting up a Central University in the KBK region.

There are strong possibilities of setting up of an IIT or IIM in Orissa in view of industrial growth.

Chief Minister returned happy and took no time to issue the Press Release.

But insiders in the MHRD and educationists are reading between the lines.

There are two types of Central Universities (CU).

One is regular CU of which 16 are to be set up in 11th plan with an investment of Rs.300 crore each.

Another World Class Central University (WCCU) of which 14 are to be established during next 5 years with an investment of Rs.1000 crore each.

Mr.Singh is hinting towards the regular CU in KBK with an investment of Rs.300 crore.

But Orissa deserves a WCCU in coastal Orissa and CU in KBK or vice versa as the level of investment in higher education in Orissa is much below than the other major states like Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh.

Similarly Mr.Singh said Orissa deserves an IIT or IIM.

But the state is demanding IIT, IIM and IIIT for last so many years and the Minister HRD is playing hide and sick game over the establishment of these institutions.

In order to establish an IIT, MHRD spends Rs.1000 crore and for an IIM it provides Rs.150-200 crore.

To be very frank, Mr.Singh is fooling the state so far setting up the higher institutions of learning in the state, alleged a senior mandarin.

And the pathetic part of the story is we believe him, which will end up in receiving pea nuts in the name of largesse of Centre, cautioned … Professor Chitta Baral of Arizona State University.

So the State Government must come out with Vision Document for the Centres of Higher Learning including a WCCU, Cu-KBK, IIT, IIM and IIIT in the state, said Dhirendra Kar, a leading NRO.

These demands to be harped time and again with the UPA Government till it is achieved, said he.

January 25th, 2008