Odisha HRD

Contributions of OUAT Scientists to Agriculture: a Samaja article

1 comment August 24th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Another new engineering college gets AICTE approval

The founders of this new engineering college, TempleCity Institute of Technology and Engineering, includes a founder of KIIT (not Achyuta Samanta) and a US based initial financier of KIIT who is also very well respected in the US Oriya community. At least one (not me) north American based Orissa origin professor is involved in this project. Thus I think this will turn out to be a good college.

August 24th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Tribal University Bill introduced by Arjun Singh in Rajya Sabha

Following are excerpts from a report in Hindu.

The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Bill to set up a tribal university in Madhya Pradesh was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday by Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh.

To be set up an estimated cost of Rs. 60 crore during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the university will have its headquarters in Amarkantak and will be a Central university.

Though headquartered in Amarkantak, it will have a number of regional centres and campuses in the tribal areas, particularly in the Indian heartland.

According to the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ attached to the Bill, Amarkantak was chosen because there was no Central university specifically catering to the population in the tribal concentrated areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. This is in contrast to the other area of high tribal concentration — the North-East .

While the proposed university is aimed at facilitating and promoting avenues of higher education and research facilities for the tribal population of the country, it will take in students from other sections of society also.

… Besides providing access to higher education to the tribals of Central India in particular, it will promote research in tribal art, culture, tradition, language, medicinal systems, customs, and forest-based economic activities.

My observations: The budget sounds too low. With that fixed some of the regional centers and campuses should be in Orissa.

2 comments August 24th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Children joining special schools under Child Labor Project

The following is from a PIB release.

The number of children who have been withdrawn from hazardous jobs and have been admitted to special schools under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme has more than doubled during the last three years.  Their number has increased from 1,67,825 in 2004-05 to 3,37,269 in 2006-07.  These children in the age group of 9 to 14 years are provided with accelerated bridging education and other benefits like stipend, mid-day meal, vocational training, health check-ups, etc. in special schools for a maximum period of three years to enable them to join regular mainstream education system.

            The state-wise details of the children enrolled in special schools under NCLP is as follows:

Similarly, the number of children enrolled in special schools under the Indo-US (INDUS) Project has also seen an increase during the last three years as follows:

August 24th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Kerala is given assurance about one of the 8 new IITs.

Following are excerpts from a report in Hindu.

Kerala was on Wednesday assured of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan by Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. The assurance was given by the Minister to Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan at a meeting here.

August 23rd, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Proposal for six new NIPERs gets cabinet approval

Following is from a PIB release. (To go through this proposal the original NIPER bill was amended.)

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the following proposals:

i) Setting up of six National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) at Hyderabad (Andhra pradesh), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Hajipur (Bihar) Guwahati (Assam), Raibareilly (U.P.) and Kolkata (West Bengal).

ii) Commencing some courses at four locations of New NIPERs from the current academic session i.e. September, 2007 with the assistance of Mentor Institutes.

iii) Continuation of courses under the present arrangements from the plan budget for two years i.e. 2007-08 and 2008-09 and preparation and preparation and approval of the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) by the Competent Authority.

iv) Appointment of a Consultant of repute to prepare the DPR for each NIPER wherever possible on the Public Private Partnership model.

v) Pending the constitution of board of Governors under the NIPER Act 1998, an Apex Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary (C&PC) to oversee the functioning of these NIPERs may be set up.

This decision will facilitate training of high caliber pharmaceutical experts and award of Masters degrees to cater to the demand of pharmaceuticals industry, academic institutes and the pharmacy profession.

My comments: In a few years, Orissa should try for a NIPER around Paradip which will become a mega petro-chemicals hub.

1 comment August 23rd, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

3 months course on Japanese , French, Russian and Chinese offered by OCAC, Bhubaneswar

August 23rd, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Sports schools and institutions

Following is from a PIB release.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) runs 126 National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) Centres, 10 Special Area Games (SAG) Centres, 57 SAI Training Centres (STC), 18 Army Boys Sports Company Scheme (ABSC) Centre and 10 Centre of Excellence (COX) where sportspersons are given training in different sports disciplines.  State-wise details are at Annexe-I.  Besides, SAI has an Academic Wing at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

Funds are not directly allocated to any Centre. They  are released to SAI Regional Centres, which in turn, make  releases to various centres on a need basis.  During the last 3 years, the  following grants were utilized for  SAI Centres:-

Year                       Grant released

                              (Rs. in lakhs)

2004-05                   436.70

2005-06                   499.00                                   

2006-07                                     505.00

The details of the funds given to the NSNIS, Patiala during the last 3 years for operating sports scholarship scheme, rural sports programmme, the North East Sports Festival and Women Sports Festival are as under:

Year                       Grant released

                              (Rs. in lakhs)

2004-05                 987.83             

2005-06               1041.41

2006-07                 731.61

ANNEX-I

This information was given by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs & Sports and DoNER in the Lok Sabha today in a written reply to a question by Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo and Shri Jivabhai Ambalal Patel.

August 23rd, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

MBBS and BDS seats available under all India Quota

Following is from a PIB press release.

The information regarding number of MBBS/BDS seats available under All India Quota-2007 in the various States can be seen at Annexure-I.

The first round of counseling for allotment of MBBS/BDS seats under 15% All India Quota-2007 was held from 15.06.2007 to 26.06.2007 and the second round of counselling was held from 27.07.2007 to 07.08.2007.  During the first round of counselling, 1520 MBBS seats and 161 BDS seats were allotted and during the second round of counselling 656 MBBS seats and 114 BDS seats were re-allotted/allotted to the merit/wait list candidates.  Out of these, 303 MBBS seats and 73 BDS seats were received as vacant from various colleges due to non-joining/resignation etc. of candidates who were allotted seats during 1^st round of counselling.   And remaining 353 MBBS seats and 41 BDS seats were added in view of increasing in seat capacity in the existing colleges and establishment of new colleges.

All the 1520 MBBS and 161 BDS seats were allotted in 1^st round of counselling.  However, 303 MBBS and 73 BDS seats fell vacant on account of non-joining/resignation of the candidates who were allotted seats during first round of counseling.  These seats were re-allotted/allotted to the candidates participated in the 2^nd round of counselling.

After completion of both rounds of counselling, no MBBS/BDS seats remained vacant during the previous year.  All the MBBS/BDS seats available have been allotted to the candidates in the 15% All IndiaQuota-2006.  However, as per the information received from various States/Colleges, a total of 66 MBBS and 51 BDS seats of 15% All India Quota-2006 were reverted to State Quota during the previous year.  A list of such reverted seats to State Quota can be seen at Annexure-II.

As per the ‘Scheme’ devised and approved by the Hon’ble Supreme Court there is no provision for 3^rd round of counselling or extended 2^nd round of counselling.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Smt. Panabaka Lakshmi in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

KR/SK/107 – LS

ANNEXURE –I

15% ALL INDIA QUOTA – 2007 SEATS

ANNEXURE-II

8 comments August 23rd, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Worker’s national technical university in Hyderabad

Following is from a PIB.

 

The Committee constituted by this Ministry under the Chairmanship of Dr. G. Sanjeeva Reddy has since submitted its report in December, 2006. The report recommended establishment of a Workers Technical University for inter-alia training the students from workers family and those belonging to economically poor sections of the society particularly form rural areas to make them more relevant to the needs of today’s technology intensive and knowledge driven industrial society.

The Committee recommended the industry to contribute a small percentage of their gross profit ( ranging from 0.5% to 2%) as the education cess for the proposed university.

The Committee recommended that the jurisdiction of the proposed National Workers Technical University shall be the whole of the country, having the main campus at Hyderabad with regional centres at different major cities in the country. The Ministry has constituted a Core Committee to work out the details of establishment of the National Workers Technical University. The XIth plan has not been finalized.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari in a reply to a question by Shri Ravi Prakash Verma in Lok Sabha today.

My comments: Orissa should persue campus of such a university in Berhampur or Keonjhar.

August 21st, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Some news on the locations of new IITs and IIMs

Following are excerpts from a Business Standard report.

The eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced, are likely to come up in the states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.

An official source said the government was working on ways to give these institutes an even, regional spread.

The states will be selected on the basis of their economic and social status. A count is being done on the number of engineering and management colleges that these states have currently and their student population.

For instance, Jammu and Kashmir has a high chance of getting either an IIT or an IIM as it has only five engineering colleges and four management colleges affiliated to the University of Jammu and University Kashmir.

Among the states in the West, Rajasthan could also be considered as Gujarat and Maharashtra already have an IIM and an IIT, respectively. In the East, with Shillong having an IIM now and Guwahati having an IIT, Mizoram and Nagaland could stand a chance, said a source close to the development.

Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh could get an IIM or an IIT as Bangalore and Kozhikode have an IIM each and Chennai boasts of an IIT.

The idea of choosing these states to establish these centres of excellence is to maintain a regional balance in the country. This will be done keeping in mind the government?s inclusive growth agenda, the source added.

This is a very speculative news and the writer is unaware that IITs for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan have already been announced, and IIMs for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have also been announced earlier.

In regards to Orissa, if it comes down to be a choice between an IIT and an IIM, it is definitely preferable to get an IIT, as Orissa already has a top notch business school in XIM, an IIT can have its own business school, and the investment in an IIT is more than 10 times than that of an IIM.

Business Standard also has another article. Following are some excerpts from it.

Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced the setting up of   eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven Indian Institutes of  Management (IIMs) and 30 central universities in his Independence day  speech, the government is shortlisting states where the institutes will be located.

Economic Times also has a report which talks about the difficulty and impact of having so many new IITs and IIMs.

2 comments August 21st, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Ranking of K-12 schools in India

Education worldwide on-line has a ranking of schools. None of the schools in their list are from Orissa. In recent years some name brand schools have come to Orissa. This includes Loyola school and DPS Kalinga; both in Bhubaneswar. Performance wise DAV Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar has been doing very well in the CBSE class X and XII exams, but not great in IIT entrance exams.

(Thanks to Piyush Patnaik for the pointer to the ranking.)

2 comments August 21st, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Indus College of Engineering receives AICTE approval for taking students from 2007-08

I got an email from Dr. Ravi Reddy, Director(Academic) and Trustee of Indus college of engineering informing me that their college has received AICTE approval for taking admission for academic year 2007-8. Earlier we covered them in https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=382 and https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=509. As I mentioned earlier, "Dr. Reddy is a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur and a Ph.D from University of Houston, USA. He was one of the main person at NIST, Berhampur. Based on this information, I think this will also become a good  engineering college."

4 comments August 20th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

From Sainik Schools to NDA

Following is from a PIB that gives data on what percentage of NDA recruits come from Sainik Schools. Note that most big states have a Sainik School each, and in Orissa, the Sainik School is in Bhubaneswar located next to Utkal University and Institute of Physics.

The share of Sainik Schools in the total intake to the National Defence Academy (NDA) has steadily increased from 16.9 % in 2003 to 25.1 % in 2007. The details are given below:-

This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri M Raja Mohan Reddy in Lok Sabha today.

August 20th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral

Punjab National Bank asks for land to establish a Farmers Training Center in Orissa

Following are excerpts from a Business Standard report,

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has decided to set up a Farmers’ Training Centre (FTC) in Orissa. 
 
… "We have requested the Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, to allot at least seven acres at a prime location, preferably in Bhubaneswar for the establishment of the farmers’ training centre. The matter is pending with the government and we are eagerly awaiting the state government’s response. As soon as we receive the state government’s nod we will start construction activities," said Bimal Prasad Sharma, zonal manager of the bank in Bhubaneswar. 
 
The bank has urged the state government to give it the piece of land free of cost. 
 
The other expenditure for the training centre including the construction of the building, appointment of faculty members and other staff and their salaries, infrastructure and installation of equipments to train farmers from every nook and corner of the state will be borne by the bank, said Sharma. 
 
The bank has already established seven such farmers’ training centres in Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the agriculture lending of the bank is comparatively higher than Orissa. 
 
"About 80 percent people of Orissa are depending upon agriculture sector. The farmers are not being provided with update training on modern cultivation due to lack of farmers’ training centre. We have decided to establish the centre in Orissa to help its farmers", he said. 
 
At the proposed institute, farmers will be trained with special focus on adoption of improved farm technology, diversification of crops, specially cash crops, repair and maintenance of agriculture implements. 
 
Besides, special training on floriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, apiculture and animal husbandry will be imparted at the centre. "It is our social corporate responsibility to stand by the needy and deserved farmers as they are the back bone of our society," he said.  …
 
“We have provisionally selected four places in Orissa for the farmers’ training centre. Our top priority is, the land should be provided in such a location where faculty members, communication and other infrastructure are available at hand", Sharma said, adding, "Our first preference is Bhubaneswar because it is the state capital where our zonal office is located. Secondly, Bhubaneswar has Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology from where we can take faculty to impart training”. 

August 20th, 2007 Author : Digambar

Update on Kendriya Vidyalayas in Orissa from Sambada and Tathya.in

Following are excerpts from Tathya.in on this.

To set up a KV the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) spends Rs.2.70 crore for infrastructure and annual recurring grant of Rs.70 lakh.

So in a year of time MHRD has provided at least Rs.27.20 crore to Orissa to raise the primary and secondary education level, which is in shambles.

During the period KBK has been benefited most.

Tribal districts like Malkangiri, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Boudh received KVs.

3 comments August 20th, 2007 Author : Chitta Baral