Odisha HRD

Orissa should push for a Central University in the Western part of Orissa to be included in the 12th plan

Pioneer reports on a letter written by Sanjib Karmee about establishing a central university in the Western part of Orissa. Following are some excerpts.

.. One such letter written to the Prime Minister, President and other top political leaders of the country including one to the Chief Minister of Orissa and members of Parliament, by Dr Sanjib Kumar Karmee of Bio-catalysis and Organic Chemistry group of the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, has made a fervent appeal to the powers that be to open a Central University in the Koshal region.

He has appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Human Resources and other Central Government ministries in the establishment of many centrally funded institutions in Orissa keeping the backwardness of the State in mind.

He has cited that the current Government of the State is adopting a capital centric approach, clustering Bhubaneswar with National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Railway Medical College.

The State Government has chosen only two such centrally funded institutes outside Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri region of having a Central University at Koraput in south Orissa and a proposal to set-up the Indian Institute of Information Technology in Berhampur which is also in south Orissa.

Koshal region he writes is one of the most backward regions in Orissa, and has demanded the establishment of centrally funded institutes in Koshal region. At the same time he writes about the connectivity and amenities of the region which has infrastructural readiness to have a Central University, besides he says the region has two universities – Sambalpur University and VSS University of Technology – a Government Medical College, and a few private engineering colleges. Rourkela city which is close to Burla-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area has a National Institute of Technology at Rourkela. On connectivity he writes there is a proposal by the Government of India to have an airport at Jharsuguda and further that Jharsuguda is well connected by rail to the various States in India. Burla-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area is emerging as a central location for on going industrial activities in the region.

Since MHRD is very serious about increasing the GER, I think the 12th plan would include some more central universities (or at the worst case universities that are funded 50-50 by center and state). Also, as I mentioned earlier, many states have regions which have been left out of the national university (mostly went to the state capital or the 1st or 2nd most populated metro area of the bigger states; but all went to metro areas with a population of greater than 1 million; the obvious reason seems to be the vision behind these universities as stated in the first announcement as well as in the concept papers) and first central university distributions (many went to smaller places of the states), and they would like to have a central university/institution. This includes Nagpur in Maharastra, Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur/Asansol/Siliguri in West Bengal, Bhawanipatna/Jharsuguda/Rourkela in Orissa etc.

In Orissa, after CUO Koraput and national university in Bhubaneswar, the government should strongly consider a location in its Western part (and far from Bhubaneswar) for that. Among the possible locations, a sentimental favorite would be Bhawanipatna, as it has been reported that at one point the CM had assured the representatives from Kalahandi regarding locating the first central university there. Other good locations could be Rourkela (a bit in the corner though; but is a metro and has a sizable population and does not have a regular university; it does have NIT) and Jharsuguda (lots of industrial development happening here, not too far from Rourkela, but close to Sambalpur which has two universities; But Jharsuguda itself has nothing and is going to have an airport soon).

3 comments September 24th, 2009

Thinking ahead to the 12th plan that starts from 2012 – Regional Universities, National and Regional Libraries, and Rural Sc. and Tech. Institutes

The duration of the 11th plan is from 2007-2012. We are now in 2009 and very soon 2012 will be looming. My guess is that the planning commission may already be in its preparatory stage to start planning for 2012. Considering that one of the big focus of this government is to increase the GER (gross enrollment ratio) in higher education from 12.4% to 30% by 2020, the 12th plan will also pay significant attention to higher education. The national knowlede commission has also recommended that  India have up to 50 national universities and 1500 universities. With that in mind, following is part of something that I wrote to Prof. Yash Pal (and copied to to Sam Pitroda) in June as a response to Prof. Yash Pal’s draft. (Prof Yash Pal replied back saying: "I thank you for your excellent and concerned suggestions. I have shared them with some of my colleagues. I am sure they would be taken up by some of them. Our report will be submitted in a week. Then will start another phase. Many of these will keep reverberating. Thank you again.")

ii) Regional Universities with 50-50 split between state and the center:

The Central government now has central universities and is proposing 14 national universities. In these universities the students are and will be from across the country and the universities will be funded 100% by the central government, except land being given by the state.

As you have noted some of the centrally managed universities and institutes (IITs, etc.) have a good structure and are doing the best.

As a way to transfer this first-hand to the states I propose the establishment of “Regional Universities” which are funded 50-50 by the state and the center and the students are 50-50 between the state and the rest of the country. This will be similar to the structure of the erstwhile “Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs)”, which have now been transformed to NITs. The original RECs were funded 50-50 by the state and center and had 50-50 students from the state and the rest of the country. The NITs are funded 100% by the center.

Eventually the regional universities may be funded 100% by the center. This idea has many benefits:

(a)    The direct collaboration between a state and the center helps in the transfer of know-how of how to develop and manage a good university.

(b)   It costs less for the center to create another 30-40 good universities, as the cost is shared 50-50.

(c) It helps develop additional knowledge centers in the states. (Most RECs were established in second rung cities in their respective states. REC/NIT in Orissa is in Rourkela, in Tamil Nadu it is in Trichy, in Maharashtra it is in Nagpur, in Karnataka it is in Surathkal, in West Bengal it is in Durgapur, etc.)

I think this is something feasible and should be pushed with the planning commission. Even with the new central universities and national universities many states have large metropolitan areas that  did not get one and are in need of a good (at least partially) centrally funded institution and university. That gap can be filled with the above proposed regional universities. In Orissa possible location of such a regional university could be Rourkela or Jharsuguda.

The proposed national universities also had stringent criteria attached to them, which made it difficult to distribute them. For example, the PIB announcing them said:

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.

Earlier reports mentioned prime locations being an important factor and gave an example criteria of what they meant by a prime location. They cited proximity to CSIR labs.

Like the erstwhile RECs, the proposed regional universities need not have such stringent conditions allowing them to be located in places like Durgapur, Kadapa, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, etc.

Another item that I had in my mail to Prof. Yash Pal, which should be pushed for the 12th plan is as follows:

(vi) University and local communities; National and regional libraries:

I think a good library should be an integral component of each of the universities. Currently the libraries in most universities and colleges in India are pathetic. While the libraries are improved it should also mandate that a big part of the library materials, should be available for browsing for common folks who are not necessarily enrolled in the university. In the US any one can walk into a university library, be it Berkeley (a state university) or Stanford (a private university). I am not sure if that is the case with respect to the universities and colleges in India.

While we are discussing libraries, like central universities and national universities, the Indian government should establish a national library in each state capital (100% funded by the central govt.), and a regional library (funded 50-50 by the state and the central govt.) in another city of a state. In 5-10 years there should be good libraries in each district and in 10-15 years in each block. (When I walk into the local library in the US, I envy not growing up in the US and recall having to beg my local book store in a cabin near my house in Bhubaneswar to lend me translations of the world literature book series. I could not afford to buy them. Nor did my school have them.)

A new item that I have mentioned once in a while and that can be genarlized for the 12th plan is to establish centrally funded rural technological institutes like SLIET (Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology) in Punjab and the recently proposed ABA Ghani Khan Choudhary Institute of Engineering and Technology in West Bengal, in each of the other major states of the country. In Orissa, Balangir and Kalahandi (Bhawanipatna) are good possible locations for this. (Orissa should aim for having a centrally funded institute in each of the undivided KBK+Kandhamal districts.) Although centrally funded, these institutes are different from the NITs. The PIB release in the context of ABA GKC IET says the following:

The Institution will offer courses in Engineering and Technology to cater to the various manpower requirements of the region, with special emphasis on courses relevant to the local population such as in food technology & sericulture.

Initially, the Institution would start with Certificate level courses leading to Diploma, Degree and Post-graduate levels later.

The total project outlay of the Institute will be around Rs. 97 crores.

Dear Readers: Please suggest your thoughts and ideas on the 12th plan. Even if your main interest is about your home town, think of a way to put it in national terms.

4 comments September 14th, 2009

Orissalinks and all around development of HRD infrastructure in Orissa

In light of some comments in Orissalinks and several efforts that are going around in the Cyberspace, I would like to give a bit of history of Orissalinks that would make our stand clear in terms of promoting all around development of HRD infrastructure in Orissa.

We had several blogs that are precursor to Orissalinks.com. The first two were:

• http://iiser.blogspot.com/  started October 2005: This was about getting NIS to Bhubaneswar which was earlier announced in 2003 by the President of India and HRD minister of India but was omitted when IISERs were proposed.
• http://kbkcentral.blogspot.com/  started October 2005: This was about getting a central university to KBK.

Couple of the blogs after that were:

• http://newiits.blogspot.com/  started December 2005: At that time there were plans to upgrade some existing institutions to an IIT or existing IITs opening branches in other locations.  We pursued both.
• http://iits-11thplan.blogspot.com/ started January 2007: After the first three new IITs were announced and Orissa was left out this was to push for an IIT in Orissa.

With the help of Prashant Sahoo, we started this consolidated blog orissalinks.com in Novermber 2006. The first postings of this blog was about KBK Central University. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/date/2006/11.

We have been fortunate that the goals of our initial efforts were achieved and we now have NISER, an IIT and a Central University in Orissa.

There were other achievements including helping the UCE Burla students and alumni in their efforts to make UCE Burla an unitary university.  The idea was mooted in this blog in October 2007 (see https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/693) and later support was provided by email. See their acknowledgement in their souvenir.

While a lot of our initial focus had been about getting Orissa its fair share, dealing with inequality within Orissa was also a concern from the very beginning. Although we did not frame it in the terms of "inequity within Orissa" our initial postings on KBK University and the kbkcentral blog were about addressing the lack of opportunities in the KBK districts.We continue with several other efforts such as making VSSUT, Burla an IIEST, having a branch of IGNTU in Kandhamal and getting an ESIC medical college to Rourkela.

We also wrote specifically about inequality within Orissa. One of our early post was in April 2007. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/100. Since then we have raised this several times and will continue to do so.

But we would like it to be done, at least in this forum, in a respectful way and avoiding divisiveness. I also think that is the most effective way.

Following are some of my suggestions:

1. We should not show any hatred towards any region of Orissa. (Sometimes one may not mean that, but the words imply that.) While it is ok to point out that some area, say the Bhubaneswar area, has too many of something as compared to the rest of the state, it is really not helpful to say something like since X will be in the Bhubaneswar area, I would rather not have it in Orissa at all.
2. We should not use divisive terminologies.
3. Personally I think it is usually better to argue for certain amenities and infrastructure elements in particular metropolitan areas rather than whole regions especially when there are divisive stereotypes about those regional distinctions.
4. As described in http://orissa2020.org (in particular http://www.orissa2020.org/home/area-wise-plan ) I think we can initially focus on five tier 2 regions (Rourkela area, Berhampur area, Baragarh-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area, Balasore-Baripada area and Koraput-Jeypore-Sunabeda area) and five trier 3 A regions (Bhawanipatna, Balangir, Phulbani, Angul and Keonjhar). See the above links for the reasoning behind why these ten are our first choice. Specific mailing lists or yahoo groups on each of them would be useful in interfacing cybercitizens with people phyiscally located in those areas. This will allow organization of some ground level teams and actions when needed.
5. While looking out for our own backyard is important, it is more effective if one does not only focus on their own backyard or one is not too obsessed on their own backyard.
6. It is more effective to argue for a location of an institute, when another location for it has not been announced. It creates divisiveness when one suggests or campaigns that institute X announced for location L should be moved to location M. A better alternative in that case is to say that a branch of X or something like X should also be in M. That is what we used when campaigning for NIS in Bhubaneswar. We never said that the IISER in Kolkata should be moved to Bhubaneswar. We said that we are happy that Kolkata gets an IISER but we would like Bhubaneswar to have an NIS or an IISER. That way the campaign does not pit people in favor of L against the people in favor of M. The more unified an effort is the better its chances of success. Especially, if one makes enemies or treats others as enemies then it works against their goals. The intelligent and effective approach is to convert others to support or even pursue your goals and not make enemies.
7. On the other hand if X is announced for location L and someone from L says that I am from L but I think for these reasons the institute X  should be in M, then that is the right spirit. That is what is happening in the ESIC medical college in Rourkela effort.
8. There will be cases when several areas are under consideration for a single exclusive institute. At that time we should keep the debate about the location civil and logic based. In such debates people arguing for their own backyard is expected and reasonable, but one must keep in mind that it automatically decreases their credibility in the eyes of the others.

In summary, if we work unitedly for all of Orissa and respect some ground rules (such as the ones above), the chances of success are much higher.

13 comments September 8th, 2009

PPP based Medical colleges planned in Balasore, Rayagada and Naraj

Following is an excerpt based on a report in Pioneer.

Accordingly, three medical colleges at Cuttack, Balasore and Rayagada, in the PPP mode, are on the anvil. Acharya is also interested in providing similar facility at Jharsuguda. Private partners will set up the medical colleges and hospitals as per the Medical Council of India guidelines.

The State Government will provide 25 acres of land, and agreements will be signed with the private promoters accordingly. As per the guidelines, a medical college in the KBK districts will attract one-time Government grant.

The Government is eyeing private partners having hospitals of national and State presence, charitable, religious groups managing hospitals and groups of doctors, interested to set up and manage hospitals. Lands for the hospitals have been identified by the PPP Cell with the help of the district administration.

Lets see how these go. Considering that the earlier proposed WODC supported PPP medical colleges in Bhawanipatna, Balangir and Rourkela have not yet commenced classes I will keep my fingers crossed.

September 1st, 2009

JEE Counseling for 88 Engineering Colleges/Institutes/Universities in Orissa; 25 of them are new

Update: As one may notice one of the existing colleges that is missing from the list below is:

• Purushottam Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

It is missing because the Industries department of Orissa has barred it from admitting students from Orissa JEE in 2009-2010. Some details are reported at http://dailypioneer.com/191657/Industry-dept-bars-Purushottam-Institute.html. It was allowed to fill up seats based on AIEEE though.

The list below is based on the availability of seats pages of http://jeeorissa.com/availability_of_seats.asp.

1. Ajay Binay Institute of Technology Cuttack (ABT) Pvt.
2. Apex Institute of Technology & Management, Pahal Bhubaneshwar (APT) Pvt.
3. ARYAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY PANCHAGAON, KHURDA Bhubaneswar (AIE) Pvt.
4. Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
5. Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
6. Bhubaneswar Engineering College Khurda (BEC) Pvt.
7. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology JANLA, KHURDA (BIB) Pvt.
8. Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
9. BRM International Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (BII) Pvt.
10. C. V. Raman College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CVR) Pvt.
11. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology Bhubaneswar (CPT) Govt.
12. Centurian Institute of Technology Khurda (CIK) Pvt.
13. College of Engineering & Technology Bhubaneswar (CET) Govt.
14. College of Engineering Bhubaneswar Bhubaneshwar (CEB) Pvt.
15. Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies Tangi, Cuttack (DRM) Pvt.
16. Eastern Academy of Science & Technology Phulnakhara, Khurda (EAS) Pvt.
17. EINSTEIN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT BANIATANGI, KHURDA (EAT) Pvt.
18. EKLAVYA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Jatni, Bhubaneswar (ECT) Pvt.
19. GANDHI ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING GOLONTHARA, BERHAMPUR (GAT) Pvt.
20. Gandhi Engineering College Bhubaneswar (GEC) Pvt.
21. GANDHI INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY BANIATANGI,KHURDA (GIE) Pvt.
22. Gandhi Institute for Technology Bhubaneswar (GIF) Pvt.
23. Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
24. Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
25. Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
26. Gandhi Institute of Technological Advancement Badaraghunathpur, Bhubaneswar (GIB) Pvt.
27. Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (GIK) Pvt.
28. Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology & Management Chhaitana Puri (GHT) Pvt.
29. Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
30. Government College of Engineering Kalahandi Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi (GCK) Govt.
31. GURUKUL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) JAMUJHARI, BHUBANESWAR (GCW) Pvt.
32. Gurukul Institute of Technology,Janla Bhubaneswar (GKT) Pvt.
33. HITECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING BHUBANESWAR (HCE) Pvt.
34. Hi-Tech Institute of Technology Khurda (HIT) Pvt.
35. Indic Institute of Design & Research Khurda (IID) Pvt.
36. Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
37. INDOTECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING MALLIPADA, KHURDA (ICE) Pvt.
38. Indus College of Engg. Bhubaneswar (IDU) Pvt.
39. Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
40. International Institute of Information Technology(Self Sustaining) Gothapatana, Bhubaneswar (III) Govt.
41. Jagannath Institute of Engineering & Technology Cuttack (JIC) Pvt.
42. Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
43. Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
44. KMBB COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY DALEIPUT, KHURDA (KCE) Pvt.
45. Konark Institute of Science & Technology Jatni,Bhubaneswar (KIS) Pvt.
46. Koustav Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (KIT) Pvt.
47. Koustuva Institute of Self Domain(for Women) Bhubaneswar (KID) Pvt.
48. Krupajala Engineering College Pubasasan, Bhubaneswar (KEC) Pvt.
49. Maharaja Institute of Technology,Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (MIK) Pvt.
50. Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology Paniora, Bhubaneswar (MIB) Pvt.
51. Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.
52. Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
53. Modern Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (MIM) Pvt.
54. Nalanda Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (NIT) Pvt.
55. National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
56. NM Institute of Engineering & Technology Sijua, Bhubaneswar (NMI) Pvt.
57. Orissa Engineering College Nijigarhkurki, Bhubaneswar (OEC) Pvt.
58. Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
59. Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
60. Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
61. Parala Maharaja Engineering College Berhampur (PMG) Govt.
62. RAHUL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY GOVINDAPUR JN, BERHAMPUR (RIE) Pvt.
63. Rajdhani Engineering College Bhubaneswar (REC) Pvt.
64. Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
65. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.
66. Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
67. Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
68. Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
69. SHIBANI INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION JANLA, BHUBANESWAR (SIE) Pvt.
70. Silicon Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (SIT) Pvt.
71. Silicon Institute of Technology Sasan, Sambalpur (SIS) Pvt.
72. SOPHITORIUM ENGINEERING COLLEGE BANIATANGI, KHURDA (SEK) Pvt.
73. SPINTRONIC TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCE RESEARCH TARABOI, KHURDA (STA) Pvt.
74. SRINIX COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING RANIPATNA, BALASORE (SCE) Pvt.
75. Subas Institute of Technology Barang,Bhubaneswar (SIB) Pvt.
76. SUDDHANANDA ENGINEERING & RESEARH CENTRE PHULNAKHARA, CUTTACK (SER) Pvt.
77. Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
78. Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology Dhenkanal (SYN) Pvt.
79. SYNERGY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHIMPUR, KHURDA (SIK) Pvt.
80. TempleCity Institute of Technology & Engineering Khurda (TCT) Pvt.
81. The Techno School Bhubaneswar (TTS) Pvt.
82. Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar (TAT) Pvt.
83. VEDANG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLGY DURGA PRASAD,KHURDA (VIK) Pvt.
84. Veera Surendra Sai University of Technology Burla (UCE) Govt.
85. Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
86. VIKASH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) BARGARH (VCE) Pvt.
87. VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR (VIB) Pvt.
88. Xavier Institute of Technology Ghangapatna, Bhubaneswar (XIT) Pvt.

The Engineering Colleges, institutes and departments that do not take students via JEE are:

1. IIT Bhubaneswar
2. NIT Rourkela
3. ITER, SOA University, Bhubaneswar
4. KIIT Engineering College, Bhubaneswar
5. Department of Agricultural Engineering, OUAT, Bhubaneswar
6. ICFAI Tech, Bhubaneswar

12 comments July 25th, 2009

A partial list of engineering colleges that are newly authorized by AICTE to admit undergraduate students

Update2: The possible reason that IIIT, Silicon etc. are not in the BPUT published list despite having received AICTE approval is that BPUT has not completed their inspection of these institutions. It is expected that the inspection will be completed in the next couple of days in time for regular JEE counseling.

Update: The list in BPUT’s web site http://www.jeeorissa.com/newsfiles/news_16.htm is slightly different. The main differences are that it does not have IIIT, Silicon and Xavier and has the following college.

• SOPHITORIUM ENGINEERING COLLEGE, INFRONT OF COLLECTOR OFFICE, BANIATANGI, KHURDA

The following list is obtained from a link mentioned by reader Parashar Das and another link that lists changes in seats. The later link has BIT and IIIT as BIT got its approval in 2008 and IIIT got its approval as a college in 2007.

1. Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mouza: Barakuda, Post Panchagoan, Bhubaneswar-752 050
2. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology, Plot No 4, Village Harapur, Khurda, Pin- 752 054
3. Einstien Academy of Tech. & Management (EATAM) Bania Tangi Bhubaneswar
4. Eklavya College of Tech., and Sci., At Kusumati PO Jatni Bhubaneswar Khurda
5. Gandhi Academy of Tech. & Engineering At/PO Golonthara Konisi, Berhampur, Dist Ganjam Orissa
6. Gandhi Institute for Education & Technology, At Banlatangi, P.O. Bajpur, Dist : Khurda-752060
7. Gurukula College of Engineering for Women (GCEM) At- Jamuhari Chhatabar, Bhubaneshwar Dist- Khurda Odisha
8. Hi-Tech College of Engineering, Rasulghar, Pandara Bhubaneswar
9. Indotech College of Engineering, Plot No. 144, AT/PO Mallipada, Via Pallahat(Khurda-2) Dist-khurda,Orissa-752056
10. International Institute of Information Technology, Plot No – 570(P), Gothapatna, Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar – 751030
11. KMBB College of Engineering and Technology AT-Daleiput, PO-Talahat Dist. Khurda,Orissa
12. Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology, Govindapur JN Tata Dapalli, Village Konisi, Berhampur, Ganjam (DT) Orissa-761 008.
13. Shibani Institute of Technical Education , At-PO-Chhatabar,Via, Hanla, Bhubaneswar – 752054, Khurda, Orissa
14. Silicon Institute of Technology, Sason, Sambalpur -763 200, Orissa.
15. Spintronic Tech. & Advance Resarch At.Po Taraboi P.S. Jatani Dist Khurda, Orissa
16. Srinix College of Engineering College At-Ranipatna, Dist Balasore-750001 .
17. Suddhananda Engg. & Research Centre, Phulnakhara Cuttack At Anchhipur P.O. Bhatapatna Orissa
18. Synergy Institute of Technology, At : Bhimpur,P.O. Jagannathpur, P.S. Balianta, Dist:Khurda, Orissa
19. Vedang Institute of Technology, Durga Prasad, P.O. Ramachandi, Dist. Khurda, Orissa
20. Vikash College of Engineering for Women (VCEW) plot No. 2766, P.S. Dist- Baragarh, Odisha
21. Vivekananda Inst. Of Tech., at Chhatabar Dandi, Chaatabar, Orissa
22. Xavier Institute of Tech., Princess Avencue Ghangapatna Bhubaneswar Dist Khurda Orissa

Among the above list, 17 colleges are in the Bhubaneswar area, 2 in Berhampur area, 1 in Sambalpur, 1 in Baragarh, and 1 in Balasore. This will take the number of engineering colleges in Bhubaneswar to close to 60.

Some of the other colleges that were in pipeline, but whose name does not appear in the above lists, are:

• Rourkela Institute of Technology, At P.O. Kuarmunda, District : Sundergarh Pin 770039 Orissa 
• Vijayanjali Institute of Technology At Gadabhanga No. 4 P.O. Khantapara, District : Balasore 756043 Orissa
• Adarsha College of Engineering At Saradhapur, P.O. Kumurisingha Dist : Angul, Pin 759122 Orissa
• SRM College of Engineering At Giringaput, P.O. Mendhasala, Orissa
• PJ College of Management & Technology At Kesora, P.O. Bankual, Bhubaneswar 751 002 Orissa
• Pan Institute of Technology, Knowledge City Unit – 7, Bhubaneswar 751 003 Orissa
• Pioneer Institute of Technology Village : Ambilijhari Mouza : Machhapangi, PS Choudwar, District : Cuttack Orissa
• MITS College of Engineering Mouza: Alkar At P.O. Janla, Bhubaneswar 751016 Orissa
• Kalahandi Engineering College, Bhawanipatna (govt)
• Parla Maharaj Engineering College, Berhampur (govt)

Note that last year there were 18 new colleges; 12 in the Bhubaneswar area, 3 in the berhampur area, 1 in Jharsuguda, 1 in Balasore and 1 in Rayagada. Taking into account the count of engineering colleges in various areas from last year and this year, the lower bound is:

• Bhubaneswar area: Last year 43 (including IIT, KIIT, ITER, NIT and IIIT) + 16 (not counting IIIT which is already accounted for) = 59
• Berhampur area: 6 (excluding IIIT Berhampur and Parla Maharaj, which are in the pipeline) +2 = 8+2 in pipeline
• Rourkela-Sundergarh area: 4
• Balasore-Bhadrakh area: 4 + 1 = 5
• Sambalpur-Burla-Jharsuguda-Bargarh: 3 + 2 = 5
• Angul-Talcher: 2
• Koraput-Jeypore: 2
• Others: 3 (Keonjhar, Parlakhemundi, Mayurbhanj) + 1 in pipeline (Govt. announced engineering college in Bhawanipatna)

5 comments July 18th, 2009

A partial list of new engineering colleges that may admit undergraduate students in the upcoming Orissa/BPUT JEE Counseling

The following list is compiled by reader Parashar Das from the various advertisements in Orissa newspapers. The final list should come out before the counseling for engineering starts on 24th July 2009.

1. Shibani Institute of Technical Education, Chhatabar,Bhubaneswar
2. Vivekananda Institute of Technology, Chhatabara,Bhubaneswar
3. Indotech College of Engineering,Malipada, Bhubaneswar
4. Einstien Academy of Technology & Management, Baniatangi,Bhubaneswar
5. Aryan Institute of Engineering & Technology, Barakuda, Panchagaon, Bhubaneswar
6. Ekalavya college of technology & Science, Kusumati,Bhubaneswar
7. Vedang Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar
8. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology, Infovalley, Harapur,Bhubaneswar
9. Sudhananda Engineering & research centre, Phulnakhara Bhubaneswa
10. Spintronics technology & advanced research, Argul,Bhubaneswar
11. Gurukul college for Engineering for women, Bhubaneswar
12. KMBB college of Engineering & Technology, Bhubaneswar
13. Gandhi institute for Education & Technology, Baniatangi, Bhubaneswar
14. Synergy institute of technology, Phulnakhara, Bhubaneswar
15. IIIT Bhubaneswar
16. Vikash College of Engineering for Women, Bargarh
17. Silicon institute of Technology, Sason, Sambalpur
18. Gandhi Academy of Technolgy & Engineering, Berhampur

It is not clear how many of the above have received AICTE approval so far.

In addition the Orissa government had announced two new government engineering colleges in Berhampur and Bhawanipatna. It is not known if they will be starting this year and take students this year. My guess is probably not. But I could be wrong.

26 comments July 15th, 2009

Status of WODC helped private medical colleges in Kalahandi, Balangir and Rourkela

Following is from Samaja:

The summary of the status is:

• Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi: Good progress, MCI visitor scheduled to visit in September for inspection
• Balangir: Govt. has received 6 proposals after its last call. The proposals are from:
  • Dr.D Meher Education & Health Trust, Balangir,
  • Santhigiri Ashram, Kerala,
  • Sahayata Trust, Hydrabad,
  • supreme Task, New Delhi,
  • Vigyan Bharati Charitable Trust , Bhubaneswar and
  • RVS Educational Trust, Tamil Nadu.
• Rourkela: MOU signed with Bhubaneswar based Vigyan Bharati Charitable trust. (They also run the Hi-Tech Medical college in Bhubaneswar.) Construction has started.

2 comments July 1st, 2009

Thank you Digambara, Sandeep babu, Braja babu and the others: Looks like CUO Koraput will start in Koraput because of your efforts

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

Professor Banerjee met the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here to apprise him the developments on the new varsity front. 

She is clearly defensive and said that the campus will be at Koraput and classes will start in August next.  …

During the meeting with Chief Minister, she made it clear that the Campus will be at Koraput. 

She said that there seems to be some misgivings about the Second Campus at Bhubaneswar. 

Prof. Baneerjee seems defensive and said that all out efforts are being made to start the Campus at Koraput.

Mr.Dasverma was outraged over the decision and demanded action against the people concerned.

Young NROs led by Digamabara Patra created huge stir in both the state and at national level. 

Professor Patra wrote it to the Prime Minister, Minister HRD and Chief Minister.

More than 100 students, teachers, educationists and members of the civil society demanded immediate action by sending e-mails. 

All of them demanded that if et al the second campus will be opened it should start at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi. 

The Chief Minister’s Office(CMO), was flooded with e-mails from all parts of the world and the mandarins were worried over the matter. 

Bijay Kumar Patnaik, Principal Secretary to CM took up the matter seriously. 

And Prof.Banerjee was summoned to clarify the factual position. 

Madhu Sudan Padhi, Secretary Higher Education department, who did not buy the idea of Second Campus of CUO here, before starting the original campus at Koraput.

Mr.Padhi asked her to make arrangements in Koraput. 

Prof. Banerjee is now under pressure to start classes at Koraput.

Following is from Samaja.

May 8th, 2009

VN College Jajpur Road, Titlagarh College and UN College Adaspur get autonomous status: Dharitri

This takes the number of autonomous colleges in Orissa to 28. Those are:

1. VN College, Jajpur Rd (private)
2. Titlagarh College (private)
3. UN College, Adaspur (private)
4. Khallikote College, Berhampur
5. FM College, Balasore
6. GM College, Sambalpur
7. BJB College, Bhubaneswar
8. RD Womens College, Bhubaneswar
9. MPC College, Baripada
10. SCS College, Puri
11. NC College, Jajpur
12. Bhadrakh College
13. Rajendra College, Balangir
14. Dhenkanal College
15. SKCG College, Parlakhemundi
16. Government College, Rourkela
17. Government College, Bhawanipatna
18. DD College, Keonjhar
19. Government College, Phulbani
20. Vikram Dev College, Jeypore
21. Government College, Angul
22. SBR Womens College, Berhampur
23. PN College, Khurda (private)
24. Kendrapada College (private)
25. Banki College (private)
26. SVM College, Jagatsinghpur (private)
27. Nayagarh College (private)
28. Rayagada College (private)

2 comments February 21st, 2009

Orissa Gazette notification issued for the creation of Vir Surendra Sai University of Technology in Burla

(Update: The act is here.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

The 50 year-old elite technical institute of the state was named Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) on the eve of the golden jubilee valedictory celebrations today.

It may be mentioned here that the change was effected through a gazette notification on 12 February.

Students, staff and general mass at large have been demanding unitary university status to this oldest technical institution of the state and that got materialised today in the presence of the chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik, Sambalpur MP Mr Prasanna Acharya, state industries minister Mr BB Harichandan, commerce and transport minister Mr Jayanarayan Mishra, secretary of the Alumni Association Mr Ashes Padhy, convener Prof. SK Sar and principal, Prof CR Tripathy.

… Dedicating VSSUT to the nation and unveiling the logo, the chief minister Mr Patnaik lauded in high words the commendable work of VSSUT, in spreading quality technical education in the country and producing technocrats of name and fame.

“The state is to witness a perceptible change soon due to investment of Rs 6 lakh crore in steel, aluminium, power and IT sectors. Globalisation and liberalisation has generated unprecedented demand for high quality technical people all over the world. VSSUT will take this challenge in catering the present demand,” Mr Patnaik said and appealed students and staff to be at par with international standards.

The CM also assured to fulfil all the demands of the students including allotment of 400 acres of land adjacent to it. “Young engineers will transform Orissa as the richest state of the country. At the same time, I hope, students here will uphold the great tradition and image of this institute,” Mr Patnaik said.

"There would be two more government engineering colleges at Bhawanipatna and Berhampur soon," he added.

… On this occasion, chief minister Mr Patnaik inaugurated a mammoth memorial gate erected by old students of VSSUT and at present working at Nalco in Angul. He also inaugurated a ladies hostel meant for the SC students of the university.

1 comment February 16th, 2009

Clustering govt. colleges in Orissa

Following are clusters of govt. colleges based on the list at https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1780. Based on the NKC’s aim of having many small universities, we list some universities that may b e created.

1. Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri (Bhubaneswar university may be made with the following as constituent colleges. CET Bhubaneswar may be added to it.)
   • S.B. Women’s College
   • JKBK College
   • I.M.I.T. Cuttack.
   • B.J.B. College, BBSR.
   • Rajdhani College, BBSR.
   • R.D. Women’s College, BBSR.
   • CITE, BBSR
   • ISMT, BBSR
   • MICM, BBSR
   • S.C.S. College, Puri.
   • Govt. Women’s College, Puri.
2. Jajpur-Bhadrakh (A Kalinganagar University may be made near Jajpur Rd and these colleges may be made constituents of this University)
   • N.C. College, Jajpur.
   • Bhadrak College, Bhadrakh
3. Balasore (These two colleges should be made as constituent colleges of FM University)
   • F.M. College, Balasore.
   • K.K.S. Women’s College, Balasore
4. Keonjhar (A Keonjhar University may be created with the following three and perhaps OSME Keonjhar as constituent college of it.)
   • D.D. College, Keonjhar
   • Govt. Women’s College, Keonjhar
   • B.N. Sanskrit College, Tukuna, Keonjhar.
5. Baripada(These colleges should be made constituent colleges of North Orissa University)
   • M.P.C. College, Baripada.
   • Govt. Women’s College, Baripada.
   • Govt. Sanskrit College, Baripada
6. Dhenkanal-Angul (A University may be made in Angul and these colleges may be made as constituent colleges of that university. IGIT Sarang, may also be made a constituent college of this university)
   • Dhenkanal College, Dhenkanal.
   • Dhenkanal Women’s College.
   • Govt. College, Angul.
7. Berhampur-Chhatrapur-Aska (A South Orissa University may be created and these colleges may be made as constituent colleges of that university.)
   • Khallikote College, Berhampur
   • B.A. College, Berhampur.
   • S.B. Rath Women’s College, Berhampur
   • Govt. Sc. College, Chhatrapur.
   • Niranjan Govt. Women’s College, Aska.
8. Parlakhemundi (A Gajapati university made created with this college as a constituent college of it.)
   • S.K.C.G. College, Parlakhemundi.
9. Phulbani (A Central Orissa University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
   • Govt. College, Phulbani.
   • S.M. Govt. Women’s College, Phulbani.
10. Koraput-Jeypore (A Koraput University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
    • V.Deb College, Jeypore.
    • Govt. Women’s College, Jeypore.
    • D.A.V. College, Koraput.
11. Bhawanipatna (A Kalahandi University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
    • Govt. College, Bhawanipatna.
    • Women’s College, Bhawanipatna.
12. Sambalpur-Bargarh (A Western Orissa University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
    • G.M. College, Sambalpur.
    • N.S.C.B. College, Sambalpur.
    • Govt. Women’s College, Sambalpur.
    • Panchayat College, Bargarh.
13. Balangir-Titlagarh (A Balangir University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
    • Rajendra College, Balangir.
    • Govt. College, Balangir.
    • Govt. Women’s College, Balangir.
    • Govt. Women’s Jr College, Titlagarh.
    • B.B. Sankrit College, Bolangir
14. Sundergarh-Rourkela (A Rourkela University may be created and these colleges may be made constituent colleges of that university)
    • Govt. College, Sundargarh.
    • Govt. Women’s College, Sundargarh.
    • Govt. College, Rourkela.
    • S.G. Women’s College, Rourkela.
    • Rourkela College, Rourkela.

December 13th, 2008

General Colleges count in various Orissa districts – work in progress

The left four columns(*) in the following list is based on the lists at http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/DistBlockWise_College_list.htm and http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/actsrules.htm. It seems both these lists are not up-to-date. For example, neither list has any colleges in the Boudha district. However, the Boudha district web pages mention it having 9 colleges. Using Google some of the colleges one can find in Boudha are Boudh Panchayat College and Gandharadi College. The rightmost column (**) is based on going to the district web pages and getting information there. That is also not up-to-date as in recent years numerous junior (+2) colleges have opened.

2 comments November 24th, 2008

List of general colleges in Orissa

The following is from http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/DistBlockWise_College_list.htm.

Continue Reading November 24th, 2008

List of government colleges in Orissa

Following is from http://orissagov.nic.in/highereducation/actsrules.htm.

Continue Reading 6 comments November 23rd, 2008

Setting up of 6,000 Model Schools at Block level gets union cabinet’s nod: PIB

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=44613.

The 123 educationally backward blocks in Orissa are (See also http://education.nic.in/mdm/EEBs.pdf for a bigger list):

November 7th, 2008