Fiver year integrated M.Sc programs are being started at UM-DAE, a new autonomous center for excellence in Basic Sciences jointly set up by University of Mumbai in collaboration with Dept. of Atomic Energy. It will be taught by faculty from nearby institutes such as IIT Bombay, BARC, Univ. of Mumbai and TIFR. The entrance exam for this program is the same one as for NISER, Bhubaneswar. So in a sense, NISER now has head-to-head competition in terms of students. Unless NISER moves quickly and uses its funding advantage to build a nice campus and hire top-notch faculty it may lose out.
May 4th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
In Today’s Telegraph, it is reported that:
“Goenka, who is also the chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Kharagpur, said the construction for an off-campus branch of the IIT would start this year. The state has already offered 300 acres of land near Bhubaneswar for the campus and is committed to provide all the necessary assistance for this purpose. The Rs 800-crore project would house nearly 5,000 students annually. The institute will impart technical education to around 5,000 students. ”
I don’t know if this is to be believed or not. However, let me briefly touch upon the history of this branch campus idea.
Continue Reading May 3rd, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
On behalf of the Orissa Today Network Mr. Manoj Padhi sent a letter to Vedanta University CEO. Following is the reply from Vedanta’s CEO.
Dear Mr. Manoj Padhi and OTN,
Thank you for your mail dated 8th April regarding Vedanta University (VU). We are happy to know that OTN, an intellectual Group of Overseas and local Oriya have appreciated the communication on the developments pertaining to the proposed Vedanta University in the State of Orissa.
Continue Reading May 2nd, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
I wrote the following in 1996 as a tribute to my teachers in Bhubaneswar who shaped my career. Although at that time, I had lost touch with many of those teachers, since then I have reconnected with some of them and at times will write about them.
Continue Reading May 2nd, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
The running headline of Tathya.in says that the Medical Council of India has approved 100 seats for KIMS (Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences), a component of KIIT deemed university. It does not yet show up in the MCI list of MBBS colleges. More details are awaited.
Assuming this is true, the medical college situation in Bhuabaneswar-CTC-Puri area will be as follows:
Continue Reading May 1st, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Dear all:
BITS Pilani now has a campus in Pilani (North India), Goa (West India) and Dubai and is in the process of making a campus in Hyderabad (South India). There has been good progress with respect to the Hyderabad campus [Hindustan Times, Economic Times, New Kerala,Deccan Herald].
There has been some word that they may be thinking about a campus in Eastern India. Perhaps we should politely request Sir KK Birla about creating the Eastern India campus in Orissa.
The CM of Orissa wrote to Sir KK Birla last November/December and they don’t want to write to him so soon again. So may be we can write very politely and request him to consider Orissa. (I plan to post a draft letter in these pages in a few days.) Note that one of the articles about the Hyderabad campus mentions how Sir KK Birla was impressed that so many people requested him about the Hyderabad campus. The address to send letters is:
Sir KK Birla
(i) Chandra Bhavan, Pilani (Rajasthan)-333031
(ii) Birla House, 7, Tees January Marg, New Delhi-110 011.
April 30th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Following Vedanta’s purchase of a huge stake in Sesa Goa there have been a few profile articles on its Chairman Mr. Anil Agarwal (230 in Forbes list of 2007).
- Rediff: How a small trader became a metal king
- Daily News India: A long journey from Bihar’s badlands to London’s Mayfair
The second article has a brief paragraph on Vedanta University. Following is an excerpt.
Struck by the munificence that created Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, and Stanford, Agarwal wants to do something similar in India. So, he is making an endowment of up to $1 billion (Rs4,435 crore) to establish a “world-class, multi-disciplinary universityâ€. His dream project is called Vedanta University and will be set up in the state of Orissa. AT Kearney is the consultant for the project. Agarwal had told DNA Money: “We (the family) have decided to give our wealth back to society,†he said.
Forbes profile of Anil Agarwal says the following about Vedanta University:
“Plans to build Vedanta University, India’s answer to Stanford, in eastern India; has pledged $1 billion.”
In this regard one may read how Stanford University was founded and the history of Carnegie Mellon University(CMU). The rag-to-riches story of Andrew Carnegie, the founder of Carnegie Tech (that later merged with Mellon Institute to become CMU), has some similarity with that of Mr. Anil Agarwal’s life story so far.
April 29th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Update 1 (May 6 2007): Also reported in Business Standard.
Update 2 (May 6 2007): WIPRO’s proposed center is similar to the recently built Infosys’s center in Mysore.
There have been several news reports [Telegraph,EFYTimes,Kalinga Times, Samaja1, 2, Sambada] today that Govt. of Orissa has agreed to provide 100 acres to WIPRO and 30 acres to Aricent Technology in the Puri-Konark coast for the establishment of IT training centers for 3000 and 1500 professionals respectively. All the news items are from the Government of Orissa side. I.e., such an announcement has not come from WIPRO or Aricent Technology.
[If this really happens, it will be similar to the Mysore training center of Infosys which has been getting a lot of press.]
The above news items are part of a general release about a meeting of Orissa’s IT task force. Other decisions to have been taken in the meeting includes establishment of Infocity 2, establishment of a knowledge park near the proposed IIIT, Dhirubhai Ambani’s interst in opening an IT center near Khurdha, Development of a 25 acre residential complex near Infocity 1 and development of a 300 acre satellite city for IT professionals between Bhubaneswar and Khordha.
April 28th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
The Government of India has decided to establish 20 IIITs (Indian Institute of Information Technology) which will be mostly centrally funded. One of them is proposed to be in Orissa. Initial reports [Telegraph,EFYTimes,Kalinga Times, Samaja1, 2, Sambada] mention that the central government will contribute 120 crores to this while the state government will contribute 10 crores and 100 acres to this. The location of this IIIT has not been decided yet.
April 28th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Today’s Sambada and Pragativadi have more detailed news on progress with respect to NISER. It reports that a firing range that currently exists in the area where NISER is to be located will be moved. Land will be soon handed over to NISER. etc.
April 28th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Respected Sirs,
This appeal is being raised to you by the intellectuals, students, and professionals of Orissa with a sense of deep anguish and high hopes. Statistics alone speaks volumes about the continued injustice meted to Orissa – may it be allocation for railways, planned grants, and among many, the allocation of central university & IIT to Orissa.
Union minister of state for HRD Shri MAA Fatmi had announced at the inaugural ceremony of NIOS on August 28th 2006 that 2 IITs in Orissa and one in Bihar would be included in the 11th Five Year Plan.
Continue Reading April 28th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Documents that make our case for an IIT in Orissa.
* A collection of points and counterpoints regarding making a case for an IIT in Orissa. (pdf,2MB)(word document, 500kb)
* Compilation of news items (9 MB): http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/Binder1.pdf
* Digambara Patra’s compilation of national labs distribution across India: http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/state_wise_national_lab.pdf
Now the article: “IIT in Orissa: talking points”
Following are some points that can be used to convince the other MPs, the PM, the planning commission etc. that the issue of an IIT in Orissa is an extremely important one; it has caused a lot of strife in Orissa; and appropriate amendments must be made at the earliest.
Continue Reading April 27th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
The various news items on the IIT Orissa issue that has appeared in the various Orissa based and national media has been compiled to a single 9 MB pdf file and is made available at http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/Binder1.pdf
I think if this compilation is shown by our MPs to other MPs, the planning commission and PM then it will convince them that this is a big deal for Orissa and it has caused a lot of strife in Orissa and they should pay attention and do something urgently.
In this regard, Sambad reports that Orissa MPs are gearing up to raise the IIT issue in the current session of the parliament.
April 27th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Pragativadi reports that OUAT will start three new colleges. It says:
A new college of horticulture would come up at Chipilima in Sambalpur district that would carry research activities in view of the government’s increased focus on the discipline. The varsity would also set up a college of dairy science and technology and upgrade the existing department of forestry to a full-fledged college of forestry during the 11th Five-Year Plan. Besides, it would also start the PG programmes in the College of Home Science.
April 27th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
Ravenshaw University now has a nice web page with a lot of details, including the list of faculty and their phone numbers, the various departments, and the various courses that are offered.
April 27th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
After rallies in Bhubaneswar and Berhampur, there will be a rally in Sambalpur on the 28th April 2007. Please join it if you can. A rally in Delhi is planned for middle of May.
The rally in Bhubaneswar was widely covered in the media: Statesman, Hindustan Times, New Indian Express, Pragativadi, Tathya.in, Kalinga Times, Odisha.com, Santosh Tripathy, Lalit Patnaik, Orissadiary.
Watchout for updates at http://iitorissa.org.
April 26th, 2007
Author : Chitta Baral
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