Orissa to have IIT, Central varsity

The Pioneer, 29th March, 2008

Pioneer News Service Bhubaneswar

The determined efforts of the Orissa Government and several voluntary organisations to get an IIT and a Central University for the State have finally paid off. The State will now have an IIT and a Central University in the 11th Five-Year Plan period.
A statement to this effect was made by the Centre on Friday. The Union Government has decided to establish four new IITs and six IIMs in various States, besides upgrading some of the State universities to the status of Central universities.
It has generated a lot of hope and jubilation in Orissa. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was happy about the development. The Agami Odisha, a forum of intellectuals in the State, which has been leading the movement for establishment of an IIT and a Central University in the State, will hold a torch rally in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening to celebrate the State's achievement. Sudarsan Das of the Agami Odisha congratulated the UPA Government for finally undoing the injustice to Orissa in the matter of setting up of these centres of higher learning.
Earlier on January 24, the Chief Minister had called on the Union Minister, Human Resource Development Arjun Singh at New Delhi and urged him for setting up a Greenfield IIT in Orissa during the 11th Five-Year Plan period in the State.
Patnaik argued that Orissa was on the verge of rapid industrial upsurge not only in the industrial sector but also in technical education sector and the State provides enormous potential for research and development activities.
"Establishment of an IIT in Orissa will greatly facilitate in intensifying this process, which is of critical importance to make the industry globally competitive," he said.
The Chief Minister also demanded for setting up of a Central University in the KBK region which could educate the youth in traditional and modern disciplines.
Since the quality of human resource holds the key to the development of any region, there is an urgent need to set up a top class multi-disciplinary Central University in the KBK region, he said.
Besides Orissa, the other IITs would be located in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh (Indore), Gujarat and Punjab. The IIMs would come up in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh (Raipur), Uttarakhand and Haryana.