This takes the number of autonomous colleges in Orissa to 28. Those are:
- VN College, Jajpur Rd (private)
- Titlagarh College (private)
- UN College, Adaspur (private)
- Khallikote College, Berhampur
- FM College, Balasore
- GM College, Sambalpur
- BJB College, Bhubaneswar
- RD Womens College, Bhubaneswar
- MPC College, Baripada
- SCS College, Puri
- NC College, Jajpur
- Bhadrakh College
- Rajendra College, Balangir
- Dhenkanal College
- SKCG College, Parlakhemundi
- Government College, Rourkela
- Government College, Bhawanipatna
- DD College, Keonjhar
- Government College, Phulbani
- Vikram Dev College, Jeypore
- Government College, Angul
- SBR Womens College, Berhampur
- PN College, Khurda (private)
- Kendrapada College (private)
- Banki College (private)
- SVM College, Jagatsinghpur (private)
- Nayagarh College (private)
- Rayagada College (private)

February 21st, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is from a report in the Statesman.
Twelve students of the state including five from DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar have been selected for the Kishore Vaigyanik Protshana Yojana (KVPY) scholarship. A total of 198 students from across the country have qualified this year.
The students who qualified for the scholarship from DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, are ~ Mr Pinaki Prasun Kumar, Mr Biplab Rana, Mr P Dinesh, Mr Rohit Gupta and Mr Smarak Mohanty.
Students of BJB College of Bhubaneswar who qualified for the scholarship are Mr Animesh Swain, Mr Aish Mohapatra and mr Saswat Panigrahi.
Mr Himalaya Senapati of Bhadrak College, Ms Pallabi Mishra from Cuttack Siddharth Senapati and Mr Ajaya Kumar Jena of Balasore have successfully qualified for the scholarship.
The scholarship programme, which is initiated by the Department of Science and Technology, government of India, aims to identify and select students who demonstrate talent and aptitude and encourage and assist them in pursuing research careers. It does so by the means of a two-tire examination.
The successful students will be provided with generous fellowship up to pre-PhD level. In addition, summer programmes in prestigious research and educational institutions in the country will also be organised for them.
February 20th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is from the press release at http://www.infosys.com/newsroom/press-releases/2009/infosys-india-prize.asp. (Thanks to Abi for this exact pointer.)
Infosys Institutes “Infosys India Prize” in Five Categories
Constitutes Awards for Promoting Research in Sciences for India’s Development
Bangalore, India – February 17, 2009: Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) today announced that it has set up "Infosys Science Foundation", a not-for-profit trust to promote research in sciences in India. Under the aegis of the foundation, Infosys will honor outstanding contributions and achievements by Indians across various sciences. The annual award for each category is Rs. 50 lakh.
The Infosys Science Foundation will be funded by a corpus of Rs. 21.5 crore contributed by Infosys executive board members and an annual grant from Infosys Technologies Ltd.
The “Infosys India Prize” categories include:
- Physical Sciences – Physics and Chemistry
- Mathematical Sciences – Mathematics and Statistics
- Engineering Sciences – All branches of Engineering
- Life Sciences – Biology and Medicine
- Social Sciences and Economics – Economics, History, Sociology, Political Sciences and other Social Sciences
The jury panel for each area will consist of eminent international personalities in each area selected by the trustees of the foundation.
Announcing the award, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor and Chairman of the Board, Infosys Technologies Ltd. said, “India needs bright minds across all areas of academics, government, business and society to strive for global excellence. We need to encourage research in India to address our developmental problems. This award will honor outstanding researchers who will make a difference to India’s future.”
February 18th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is from a report by PIB.
The Government has decided to set up 20 counter-insurgency and Anti-Terrorism Schools during the XIth Plan. It is proposed to locate 4 schools each in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa with a view to providing training to the State police personnel to tackle the insurgency/naxal menace.
February 17th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
(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.
February 16th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
The six new IITs that started classes last year are:
Here are some observations regarding visible progress with respect to these IITs.
February 15th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is the main contact person for IIT Bhubaneswar:
Bata Kishore RAY
Registrar
IIT Bhubaneswar
Samantapuri
(Behind Hotel Swosti Plaza)
Nandan Kanan Road
BHUBANESWAR-751 013
Tel: 91-674-2301982
Fax: 91-674-2301983
Email: iitbhubaneswar@yahoo.com
Web: www.iitbbs.ac.in
Beyond the above, the other names associated with IIT Bhubaneswar are:
- Director Designate: Prof. Madhusudan Chakrabarti
- Mentor Director: Prof. Damodar Acharya
- Chairperson of BOG (Board of Governors): B. Muthuraman (MD of Tata Steel)
February 12th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
Following is from the PIB report http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47448.
Foundation Stone of Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, laid
TO ACT AS A CATALYST FOR THE RAPID INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE STATE
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15:15 IST |
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.”
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KKP/ska
February 12th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral
In Section 8.44 (page 174) of Volume 1 (Inclusive Growth) of the 11th Five Year Plan, the following is mentioned.
The DAE has also initiated the process for establishment of the NISER at Bhubaneswar, at par with the IISER to undertake integrated five-year Masters’ courses and integrated M.Sc–Ph.D. programme in core and emerging branches of science to provide world-class education to students.
February 10th, 2009
Author : Chitta Baral