The New Indian Express, Oct 30, 2007
W Orissa neglected, says BJP
BHUBANESWAR/BHAWANIPATNA: Ties between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reached a new low on Monday with the latter alleging that the State Government is neglecting the western and southern Orissa districts where the party has a base.
Though the BJP did not hit out at the ‘Big Brother’ openly, the tone and tenor of the speeches of the grassroots level leaders at the meeting hinted that the alliance is almost over at the village and block levels.
BJP general secretary Vinay Katiyar’s directive to the State functionaries to prepare the party machinery for election in all the 147 constituencies conveyed the feeling that the party is not prepared to take things lying down any more.
Addressing a media conference, State BJP president Suresh Pujari expressed concern over the deteriorating standard of higher education in the State and demanded that vacant posts of lecturers in the backward districts should be filled up.
Criticising the State Government’s new policy of giving block grants to school and colleges, Pujari said the system of regular grants should be reintroduced. Stating that Kalahandi needed special attention in the field of road communication and education, Pujari demanded that the Western Orissa Development Council (WODC) should be made autonomous. Pujari welcomed the industrial policy of the State Government.
He, however, observed that there should be rehabilitation and the affected families be given priority in employment. The political resolution adopted at the meeting criticised the Centre for neglecting the NDA-ruled States.
Alleging that institutions of higher education, including Central university, IIT and IIM are being diverted to neighbouring States ignoring the claim of Orissa, the party demanded that such institutions should be established in the State. Pujari demanded that all the villages in the State should be included in the village electrification programme and funding for KBK scheme be increased.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Japan to help in setting up IIT
Times of India, Aug 9, 2007
PATNA: Lord Buddha has smiled on Bihar, the land where he gained enlightenment. The Japanese government is willing to lend a helping hand in the establishment of the proposed IIT at Bihta in Patna district in view of the state's close affinity with Lord Buddha.
"The Union HRD ministry has already made recommendations for technological collaboration with Japan for setting up the proposed IIT in Bihar," state science and technology commissioner Ajay Kumar Thakur said. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will be handed over a proposal to this effect on his arrival to India on August 21, he added.
The Japanese premier, during his visit in April 2005, had himself proposed to extend help in the establishment of an IIT in India. Last year, the Union cabinet approved setting up of new IITs in India in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.
While the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan lobbied hard for the Japanese help for setting up IITs in their respective states, the Bihar government lagged behind in locating the requisite 500 acres of land. Furthermore, it did not even lobby for the Japanese help. Incidentally, the land in Bihar is being acquired from 130 farmers. As many as 120 of them have already given their consent in this regard.
"Japanese collaboration means inflow of funds and latest technology. Also, the Japanese experts could extend their expertise and technologies in other fields as well," Thakur said. He pointed out that all the IITs in India had collaborations with either USA, UK or Germany. With the Japanese collaboration, the IIT to be built in Bihar will have a definite edge over the other two IITs to be built in the other two states.
PATNA: Lord Buddha has smiled on Bihar, the land where he gained enlightenment. The Japanese government is willing to lend a helping hand in the establishment of the proposed IIT at Bihta in Patna district in view of the state's close affinity with Lord Buddha.
"The Union HRD ministry has already made recommendations for technological collaboration with Japan for setting up the proposed IIT in Bihar," state science and technology commissioner Ajay Kumar Thakur said. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will be handed over a proposal to this effect on his arrival to India on August 21, he added.
The Japanese premier, during his visit in April 2005, had himself proposed to extend help in the establishment of an IIT in India. Last year, the Union cabinet approved setting up of new IITs in India in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.
While the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan lobbied hard for the Japanese help for setting up IITs in their respective states, the Bihar government lagged behind in locating the requisite 500 acres of land. Furthermore, it did not even lobby for the Japanese help. Incidentally, the land in Bihar is being acquired from 130 farmers. As many as 120 of them have already given their consent in this regard.
"Japanese collaboration means inflow of funds and latest technology. Also, the Japanese experts could extend their expertise and technologies in other fields as well," Thakur said. He pointed out that all the IITs in India had collaborations with either USA, UK or Germany. With the Japanese collaboration, the IIT to be built in Bihar will have a definite edge over the other two IITs to be built in the other two states.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Move for 8 more IITs, 7 IIMs
Times of India, Aug 2, 2007
NEW DELHI: In a major rollout for high and technical education, Planning Commission has proposed a seven-year special plan (2007-14) which includes setting up eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, 20 NITs, 20 IIITs and 50 centres for training and research in frontier areas.
Of the IITs, three have already been cleared and one IIM at Shillong has received the green signal. The seven-year special plan for higher and technical education would start in the 11th Plan and spill over to the next without being diluted. The plan panel has proposed a funding of Rs 1.31 lakh crore for the seven year plan.
The full Planning Commission will discuss the proposal threadbare when it meets on August 6 to deliberate exclusively on the impetus that should be delivered to education for the 11th Plan.
The special plan envisages setting up of 30 central universities. One central university will be located in each of the 16 uncovered states while 14 new ones of world class will come up in states which provide land free of cost in attractive locations.
These universities will have various schools including medical and engineering institutions. Also, 370 new degree colleges in districts with low gross enrolment ratio would be established and 6,000 colleges would be strengthened.
In the field of technical education, the seven-year plan talks of expansion and upgradation of 200 technical institutions in various states. There is also a plan to upgrade seven technical universities which include Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Andhra University Engineering College, Vishakapatnam, University Engineering College, Osmania University, Jadavpur University, Institute of Technology BHU and Zakir Husain College of Engineering & Technology, AMU.
Apart from eight IITs and seven IIMs, there is a plan to have five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, two Schools of Planning and Architecture, 20 National Institutes of Technology, 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology and 50 centres of training and research in frontier areas.
The central assistance under the special plan has a very strong reform component and looks up to states to agree for a minimum set of reforms to restructure higher education system covering admission, revision in curricula, collaboration with foreign universities and networking.
NEW DELHI: In a major rollout for high and technical education, Planning Commission has proposed a seven-year special plan (2007-14) which includes setting up eight new IITs, seven new IIMs, 20 NITs, 20 IIITs and 50 centres for training and research in frontier areas.
Of the IITs, three have already been cleared and one IIM at Shillong has received the green signal. The seven-year special plan for higher and technical education would start in the 11th Plan and spill over to the next without being diluted. The plan panel has proposed a funding of Rs 1.31 lakh crore for the seven year plan.
The full Planning Commission will discuss the proposal threadbare when it meets on August 6 to deliberate exclusively on the impetus that should be delivered to education for the 11th Plan.
The special plan envisages setting up of 30 central universities. One central university will be located in each of the 16 uncovered states while 14 new ones of world class will come up in states which provide land free of cost in attractive locations.
These universities will have various schools including medical and engineering institutions. Also, 370 new degree colleges in districts with low gross enrolment ratio would be established and 6,000 colleges would be strengthened.
In the field of technical education, the seven-year plan talks of expansion and upgradation of 200 technical institutions in various states. There is also a plan to upgrade seven technical universities which include Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Andhra University Engineering College, Vishakapatnam, University Engineering College, Osmania University, Jadavpur University, Institute of Technology BHU and Zakir Husain College of Engineering & Technology, AMU.
Apart from eight IITs and seven IIMs, there is a plan to have five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, two Schools of Planning and Architecture, 20 National Institutes of Technology, 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology and 50 centres of training and research in frontier areas.
The central assistance under the special plan has a very strong reform component and looks up to states to agree for a minimum set of reforms to restructure higher education system covering admission, revision in curricula, collaboration with foreign universities and networking.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Rejoinder to Mr. Jairam Ramesh's comments in Bhubaneswar
To: Jairam Ramesh <jairam@sansad.nic.in>, jairam@vsnl.com
Cc: ie.pksahoo@gmail.com, omthanvi@expressindia.com, pksahoo2002@gmail.com, shekhar@expressindia.com, c < shekhar.gupta@expressindia.com>, "pk.sahoo@expressindia.com" <pk.sahoo@expressindia.com>, "saubhik. chakrabarti" < saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindia.com >, 10janpath@vsnl.net, akshivakumar@gmail.com , betifoundationlko@yahoo.co.in, dr.vk@ucalfuel.co.in, madhavchavan@gmail.com, mirimrinal@hotmail.com, naresh.saxena@gmail.com, "C.H. Hanumantha Rao" <postmaster@cess.ac.in>, "Dr. D.Swaminadhan " <dsrf@ap.nic.in>, "Dr. Manmohan Singh" <pmosb@pmo.nic.in>, george@nde.vsnl.net.in , abhijit.sen@yojana.nic.in, anwarul.hoda@yojana.nic.in, b.mungekar@yojana.nic.in , dch@yojana.nic.in, kirit.parikh@yojana.nic.in, mvraja@yojana.nic.in, plancom@nic.in, s.hameed@yojana.nic.in, vl.chopra@yojana.nic.in, yugandhar.bn@nic.in, cmo@ori.nic.in
Dear Mr. Ramesh:
I read about your visit to Bhubaneswar and some news reports
and quotes of yours in Statesman. (See article below.)
1. One of them says:
"I do not want to score political points but what if I ask what were
these people doing in all the six years that the NDA was in power.
The IIT could have come up in six years time , what were you
(the BJD) doing when all that you needed was to take up the file to
Mr Vajpayee and he would have signed it," shot back Mr Ramesh.
2. Another paragraph of that report says:
Repeatedly emphasising that he was one with the demand of the
state for institutes of higher education, Mr Ramesh said at the same
time, one should realise that an IIT will solve the problem of unemployment.
Has Kanpur IIT contributed in any way to Kanpur? In fact, IITs have
contributed more to the US economy than Indian economy, he remarked.
===
Mr. Ramesh: I don't know if your intent was to score political points or if this is your thinking. You are quoted as saying that "you do not want to
score political points", so these must be your real views.
(1') Your comment (1) implies that a state can get an IIT (or similar institute) only when its coalition is in power in Delhi. Do you really mean that? So is the UPA government in Delhi only for states with UPA friendly
governments and the rest should go to hell in regards to higher education
institutions? Not only that you seem to be implying that it is not right (timing) for Orissa to ask for an IIT now because the ruling party
of the state is not aligned with the center.
If your thinking is the thinking of UPA, it is a pity that
millions of people of Orissa and a billion plus of India think that the Govt in Delhi is for all of India, not just for the specific subset of states which have a UPA friendly government.
Also, you must know the economic situation 5 years back and what is
predicted of the coming 5 years and beyond. What India could not afford 5 years back it can afford in the coming five years. So any time Orissa asks for something the UPA leaders keep replying back that why they did not get it during NDA rule. The simple answer is: *The economy of India 3-5 Yrs back was different than what it is now.* and Mr. MM Joshi had said exactly that when asked about IIT in 2002. Please see the last item of
http://www.orissatv.com/pratidinnewsarchives.asp?passed=9/21/2002
Moreover no IITs were announced during NDA time.
So when you and other UPA leaders and Orissa congress leaders
repeatedly harp on what did not happen in the past, one wonders if it is a
mere cover for UPA's strategy in regards to where MHRD higher education budget goes: to states where the MHRD ministers come from or states with big contingent of UPA allied MPs. (example: Big winners: MP -- Mr. Arjun Singh come from there, AP -- Ms. Rao comes from there, lots of UPA MPs come from there. etc.)
So far MHRD has announced 24 national level institutes and universities;
none of them are in Orissa. Please see list below. Yet, Orissa is now at the bottom of the list for per capita spending by MHRD. See details below.
(2') In regards to your comment that "Has Kanpur IIT contributed in any way to Kanpur?", what about the contribution of similar institutes to the locality they are in all over the world starting from contribution of MIT to the Boston area, of Stanford and Berkeley to the San Francisco Bay area, and our own IISc and all the public sector electronics companies in Bangalore to the current Bangalore. Moreover, if one thinks of the future
it is expected (and almost certain) that the IITs will contribute a lot to the
locality where they are in.
I do not know specifically about Kanpur, but it has already
started in Kharagpur. IIT Kharagpur is helping in the
development of a Biotech park near it.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1232755.cms
It has also decided to create a super specialty hospital and start a medical college in Kharagpur.
( http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060322/asp/frontpage/story_5998168.asp )
More on IIT Kharagpur's expected contribution is at:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070614/asp/bengal/story_7919068.asp
(3) The Statesman article also says that you were trying to convey
that how the Orissa CM did not really ask you much. Just in case it did not dawn on you: when one's repeated demands and requests are ignored, what is the point in asking.
Worse consider this; Mr. Naveen Patnaik visits the HRD Minister in
October 2005 (see http://rc.orissa.gov.in/index3.asp?sublinkid=133&linkid=30 )
and tells him a great idea to have a KBK Central University for tribals, and Mr. Singh acknowledges that it is a great idea and then it seems (as reported) makes a committee with your NAC colleague and well respected Dr. Swaminadhan as the chair to give him (Mr. Singh) cover to steal the idea and make the tribal university in MP. [I asked about the time line to confirm this but did not get any reply from Dr. Swaminadhan or the UGC.]
Coming back to IIT: Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi is reported (in Times of India) on 28-8-06 to have said in Patna, "The proposal for one IIT for Bihar and two for Orissa and one Western Indian state besides one IIIT to Bihar will be included in 11th Five Year Plan," See attached page.
After that probably someone in UPA had the aha moment
and realized that Orissa is not UPA ruled, and promptly Orissa
was removed from the list and since then people of Orissa have been
trying to point this injustice out.
With this background, it is understandable that the Orissa CM Mr. Naveen Patnaik. decided not to ask your UPA government for anything. You and your government just can't be trusted. Your HRD minister will say he is positively inclined and that will become a NO. He will like the logic behind an idea and then allegedly steal it to his home state.
The above feeling goes beyond the ministers to the secretary level in Orissa. I personally have met some officers at Orissa secretariate who cringe when asking something from central govt. is mentioned. They feel it is of no use and a waste of time. To them central govt. is a bully and loves
harassing them asking for this document and that document, and finally
stealing their ideas to politically aligned states.
===
Finally, Mr. Ramesh, its a pity that, with your implications that
(a) Orissa not being a UPA allied state should not expect much and only UPA allied states can get the national institutes and (b) IITs have no impact on the location where they are located, you are also a member of
the National Advisory Council. With people like you at the helm of UPA and NAC, Orissa and as a result India has no hope. (You know for India to rise, all parts of it have to rise; not just the home town and states of the UPA ministers and states allied with UPA.) All the concerns and talk about equitable distribution, taking care of the deprived etc. that you and your government engages in is just talk. The actions speak otherwise.
All that matters is which group/state supports UPA and its ministers and which does not. The state govt. that are allied will get the goodies and the others like Orissa, no matter how big a need they have, will be punished and things will be taken aways, ideas will be stolen, coal royalty rates will not be updated in time, etc.
Mr. Ramesh: Thank you for coming to Bhubaneswar and taking the blind out of the eyes of people of Orissa. They now know where they stand vis-a-vis your government. Hope the rest of India also knows about this.
sincerely
an extremely sad and disappointed Oriya
Chitta Baral
************************************************************************
24 institutes announced by MHRD during the UPA government: None in Orissa
************************************************************************
************************************************
Per capita MHRD spending on its fully funded institutes
******************************************************************************
See http://equitableindia.org
MHRD was scheduled to spend Rs 4.07 on fully funded HRD institutions
(like IITs, IIMs, etc.) per person in Orissa, while it will spend Rs 183.08 in
Delhi, Rs 41.20 in West Bengal, Rs 33.4 in Karnataka, Rs 27 in Tamil Nadu,
Rs 28.38 in Maharastra, Rs 17.73 in UP, Rs 16.05 in Andhra, Rs 33.27 in
Punjab, Rs 8.13 in Haryana, Rs 7.90 in Kerala, Rs 9.02 in MP,
Rs 4.87 in Gujurat, Rs 2.59 in Rajasthan, and Rs 1.87 in Bihar.
In other words Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa were at the bottom
of per-capita spending by MHRD in its fully funded higher
education institutions. IITs have been given to Bihar and Rajasthan.
What happened to Orissa? Why was Orissa skipped over?
*****************************************************************************
The statesman article about Mr. Jairam Ramesh's visit to Bhubaneswar
*****************************************************************************
Cc: ie.pksahoo@gmail.com, omthanvi@expressindia.com, pksahoo2002@gmail.com, shekhar@expressindia.com, c < shekhar.gupta@expressindia.com>, "pk.sahoo@expressindia.com" <pk.sahoo@expressindia.com>, "saubhik. chakrabarti" < saubhik.chakrabarti@expressindi
Dear Mr. Ramesh:
I read about your visit to Bhubaneswar and some news reports
and quotes of yours in Statesman. (See article below.)
1. One of them says:
"I do not want to score political points but what if I ask what were
these people doing in all the six years that the NDA was in power.
The IIT could have come up in six years time , what were you
(the BJD) doing when all that you needed was to take up the file to
Mr Vajpayee and he would have signed it," shot back Mr Ramesh.
2. Another paragraph of that report says:
Repeatedly emphasising that he was one with the demand of the
state for institutes of higher education, Mr Ramesh said at the same
time, one should realise that an IIT will solve the problem of unemployment.
Has Kanpur IIT contributed in any way to Kanpur? In fact, IITs have
contributed more to the US economy than Indian economy, he remarked.
===
Mr. Ramesh: I don't know if your intent was to score political points or if this is your thinking. You are quoted as saying that "you do not want to
score political points", so these must be your real views.
(1') Your comment (1) implies that a state can get an IIT (or similar institute) only when its coalition is in power in Delhi. Do you really mean that? So is the UPA government in Delhi only for states with UPA friendly
governments and the rest should go to hell in regards to higher education
institutions? Not only that you seem to be implying that it is not right (timing) for Orissa to ask for an IIT now because the ruling party
of the state is not aligned with the center.
If your thinking is the thinking of UPA, it is a pity that
millions of people of Orissa and a billion plus of India think that the Govt in Delhi is for all of India, not just for the specific subset of states which have a UPA friendly government.
Also, you must know the economic situation 5 years back and what is
predicted of the coming 5 years and beyond. What India could not afford 5 years back it can afford in the coming five years. So any time Orissa asks for something the UPA leaders keep replying back that why they did not get it during NDA rule. The simple answer is: *The economy of India 3-5 Yrs back was different than what it is now.* and Mr. MM Joshi had said exactly that when asked about IIT in 2002. Please see the last item of
http://www.orissatv.com
Moreover no IITs were announced during NDA time.
So when you and other UPA leaders and Orissa congress leaders
repeatedly harp on what did not happen in the past, one wonders if it is a
mere cover for UPA's strategy in regards to where MHRD higher education budget goes: to states where the MHRD ministers come from or states with big contingent of UPA allied MPs. (example: Big winners: MP -- Mr. Arjun Singh come from there, AP -- Ms. Rao comes from there, lots of UPA MPs come from there. etc.)
So far MHRD has announced 24 national level institutes and universities;
none of them are in Orissa. Please see list below. Yet, Orissa is now at the bottom of the list for per capita spending by MHRD. See details below.
(2') In regards to your comment that "Has Kanpur IIT contributed in any way to Kanpur?", what about the contribution of similar institutes to the locality they are in all over the world starting from contribution of MIT to the Boston area, of Stanford and Berkeley to the San Francisco Bay area, and our own IISc and all the public sector electronics companies in Bangalore to the current Bangalore. Moreover, if one thinks of the future
it is expected (and almost certain) that the IITs will contribute a lot to the
locality where they are in.
I do not know specifically about Kanpur, but it has already
started in Kharagpur. IIT Kharagpur is helping in the
development of a Biotech park near it.
http://economictimes.indiatimes
It has also decided to create a super specialty hospital and start a medical college in Kharagpur.
( http://www.telegraphindia.com
More on IIT Kharagpur's expected contribution is at:
http://www.telegraphindia.com
(3) The Statesman article also says that you were trying to convey
that how the Orissa CM did not really ask you much. Just in case it did not dawn on you: when one's repeated demands and requests are ignored, what is the point in asking.
Worse consider this; Mr. Naveen Patnaik visits the HRD Minister in
October 2005 (see http://rc.orissa.gov.in/index3
and tells him a great idea to have a KBK Central University for tribals, and Mr. Singh acknowledges that it is a great idea and then it seems (as reported) makes a committee with your NAC colleague and well respected Dr. Swaminadhan as the chair to give him (Mr. Singh) cover to steal the idea and make the tribal university in MP. [I asked about the time line to confirm this but did not get any reply from Dr. Swaminadhan or the UGC.]
Coming back to IIT: Union minister of state for HRD MAA Fatmi is reported (in Times of India) on 28-8-06 to have said in Patna, "The proposal for one IIT for Bihar and two for Orissa and one Western Indian state besides one IIIT to Bihar will be included in 11th Five Year Plan," See attached page.
After that probably someone in UPA had the aha moment
and realized that Orissa is not UPA ruled, and promptly Orissa
was removed from the list and since then people of Orissa have been
trying to point this injustice out.
With this background, it is understandable that the Orissa CM Mr. Naveen Patnaik. decided not to ask your UPA government for anything. You and your government just can't be trusted. Your HRD minister will say he is positively inclined and that will become a NO. He will like the logic behind an idea and then allegedly steal it to his home state.
The above feeling goes beyond the ministers to the secretary level in Orissa. I personally have met some officers at Orissa secretariate who cringe when asking something from central govt. is mentioned. They feel it is of no use and a waste of time. To them central govt. is a bully and loves
harassing them asking for this document and that document, and finally
stealing their ideas to politically aligned states.
===
Finally, Mr. Ramesh, its a pity that, with your implications that
(a) Orissa not being a UPA allied state should not expect much and only UPA allied states can get the national institutes and (b) IITs have no impact on the location where they are located, you are also a member of
the National Advisory Council. With people like you at the helm of UPA and NAC, Orissa and as a result India has no hope. (You know for India to rise, all parts of it have to rise; not just the home town and states of the UPA ministers and states allied with UPA.) All the concerns and talk about equitable distribution, taking care of the deprived etc. that you and your government engages in is just talk. The actions speak otherwise.
All that matters is which group/state supports UPA and its ministers and which does not. The state govt. that are allied will get the goodies and the others like Orissa, no matter how big a need they have, will be punished and things will be taken aways, ideas will be stolen, coal royalty rates will not be updated in time, etc.
Mr. Ramesh: Thank you for coming to Bhubaneswar and taking the blind out of the eyes of people of Orissa. They now know where they stand vis-a-vis your government. Hope the rest of India also knows about this.
sincerely
an extremely sad and disappointed Oriya
Chitta Baral
******************************
24 institutes announced by MHRD during the UPA government: None in Orissa
******************************
- IISER Kolkata, West Bengal (1)
- IISER Pune, Maharashtra (1)
- IISER Mohali, Punjab (1)
- IISER in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (1)
- IISER in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala (1)
- IIT in Andhra Pradesh (1)
- IIT in Rajasthan (1)
- IIT in Bihar (1)
- IIM at Shillong, Meghalaya (1)
- SPA in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh (2)
- SPA in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (2)
- Upgradation of Bengal Engineering and Sc U to an IIT clone (IIEST), West Bengal (2)
- Upgradation of Andhra Univ Engineering College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (3)
- Upgradation of Osmania Univ Engg College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (4)
- Upgradation of IT BHU to IIT clone (IIEST), Uttar Pradesh (1)
- Upgradation of Cochin Univ of Sc and Tech to IIT clone (IIEST), Kerala (2)
- IIIT Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu (1)
- Allahbad University made to a Central University, Uttar Pradesh (2)
- Manipur University made to a Central University, Manipur (1)
- Arunachal Pradesh university made to a Central University, Arunachal Pradesh (1)
- Tripura university made to a Central University, Tripura (1)
- New Central University in Sikkim, Sikkim (1)
- CIEFL Hyderabad made to a central university, Andhra Pradesh (5)
- Indira Gandhi Nationan Tribal University, Madhya Pradesh (3)
Per capita MHRD spending on its fully funded institutes
******************************
See http://equitableindia.org
MHRD was scheduled to spend Rs 4.07 on fully funded HRD institutions
(like IITs, IIMs, etc.) per person in Orissa, while it will spend Rs 183.08 in
Delhi, Rs 41.20 in West Bengal, Rs 33.4 in Karnataka, Rs 27 in Tamil Nadu,
Rs 28.38 in Maharastra, Rs 17.73 in UP, Rs 16.05 in Andhra, Rs 33.27 in
Punjab, Rs 8.13 in Haryana, Rs 7.90 in Kerala, Rs 9.02 in MP,
Rs 4.87 in Gujurat, Rs 2.59 in Rajasthan, and Rs 1.87 in Bihar.
In other words Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa were at the bottom
of per-capita spending by MHRD in its fully funded higher
education institutions. IITs have been given to Bihar and Rajasthan.
What happened to Orissa? Why was Orissa skipped over?
******************************
The statesman article about Mr. Jairam Ramesh's visit to Bhubaneswar
******************************
Time factor in fulfilling IIT dream
Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, June 20: "Much as I am fond of CM Naveen Patnaik, much as I like him, I have to say that in all the time I spent talking about projects related to Orissa's export potential the only question that he asked was " how is Kamal," remarked Union minister of state for commerce Mr Jayaram Ramesh.
The Central minister's barb at the CM came when he was responding to questions on the alleged neglect of Orissa by the UPA government.
Listing out the various issues/projects he had raised during his meeting with the CM yesterday, Mr Jayaram Ramesh quipped ~ "all that the CM asked me was how is Kamal (Union minister Mr Kamal Nath). He (the CM) is a very busy man running a big state and he was frequently looking at his watch, added Mr Ramesh.
"I have met chief ministers who send e-mails placing their demand, who sit on my head and hammer their demands during discussions with me," he added rubbing home the implicit point that nothing of this sort took place at his meeting with Mr Naveen Patnaik.
Dismissing all talk of UPA government neglecting Orissa, Mr Ramesh said such charges are irresponsible and absurd. Nobody ever conspires to starve a state of funds, he retorted. "I do not want to score political points but what if I ask what were these people doing in all the six years that the NDA was in power. The IIT could have come up in six years time , what were you ( the BJD) doing when all that you needed was to take up the file to Mr Vajpayee and he would have signed it," shot back Mr Ramesh.
Repeatedly emphasising that he was one with the demand of the state for institutes of higher education, Mr Ramesh said at the same time, one should realise that an IIT will solve the problem of unemployment. Has Kanpur IIT contributed in any way to Kanpur? In fact, IITs have contributed more to the US economy than Indian economy, he remarked.
Reeling out figures of how Orissa had got the maximum assistance from the UPA government, Mr Ramesh said it is the only state in the country which is fully covered under the NREGA and Backward Region Grant put together. Be it the National rural health mission or any other Central programme, Orissa and other backward states have been accorded priority, he stated.
http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/PUmayfinallygetCentralvarsitystatus-.pdf
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Fax campaign against repeated injustice by MHRD
Dear Readers:
I hope many of you are enraged and disgusted by this repeated injustice meted out to Orissa by the MHRD; especially now it seems that the MHRD has orchestrated hijacking of a good, sensible and extremely relevant idea proposed by our chief minister: the idea of tribal central university in the KBK region with the goal of catering to the 50% tribal population in that area and 38% tribal population across Orissa.
Often many have blamed the Orissa government for not taking timely initiatives or not coming up with innovative ideas, but this time it took the initiative, it suggested a great idea, followed up on it regularly, but the end result is same; the idea gets implemented in the home state of the minister of HRD Mr. Arjun Singh.
We must convey our displeasure, disgust, deep disappointment and anger to the central government. Please fax a letter to the PMO (fax numbers: 011-2301-8668, 2301-5470, 2301-5603, 2301-8939 ) and also fax a copy of that letter to the CMO (0674-2400100 ) and Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu (011-23061695), the sole central minister from Orissa. After that we must follow-up with the CMO (cmo@ori.nic.in) by email and Mr. Sahu by phone (Personal Secy: 09868501233 off: 011-23792469, 23792470) and tell them to take our faxes and meet the PM and the national press with all our faxes and do a dharana until the two immediate injustices of moving an IIT in Orissa after it was announced and stealing the idea of a tribal university proposed for the KBK area are corrected. Following are some pointers and points which may help in writing your letter. I am making it short so that its easier for you to draft the letter.
On KBK Tribal Central University:
- We have been keeping track of this in a blog of its own, http://kbkcentral.blogspot.com, since the idea was first formally mooted in October 2005. See also the earlier postings in this site under that category.
- Oct 24 2005: The CM meets the HRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh and proposes the idea of a KBK Central University and Mr. Singh appreciates the idea. Following is an excerpt of a press release that discusses it.
- … In addition to this, Shri Patnaik also requested for establishment of a Central University for the KBK Region, which is one of the most backward regions in the country. He pointed out that there was a heavy concentration of the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste population in this region, which has a literacy rate below 50%. Shri Patnaik stated that setting up a Central University in the KBK region would go a long way in encouraging higher education among tribal population. He added that the university could also set up specialized centres for tribal development related studies, as tribal development was one of the biggest challenges facing the country today. Shri. Arjun Singh appreciated the rationale of having a Central University in the KBK region and sought a formal proposal in this regard from the State Government. He assured that this would receive high priority whenever the Central Government considers setting up of new central universities.
- Since then the Orissa government and the representatives of Orissa have brought up this issue many many times.
- The MPs brought it up in Rajya Sabha on December 19 2005. (See page 2 right column)
- See http://kbkcentral.blogspot.com/ for the numerous times this have been brought up by the CM, by other ministers from Orissa, etc.
- A detailed proposal was sent by the Orissa government as well as by us.
- Here is our proposal. (word, pdf) This document has lots of detailed statistics in case you may want to use some of it in your letter.
- Hundred of us also sent letters about it to the PM, planning commission, etc. (word) This letter also has lots of detailed statistics in case you may want to use some of it in your letter.
- The Hindu first reported on the plan for the tribal university in Madhya Pradesh. Following is an excerpt from it. One may compare this excerpt with the Orissa government press release on Oct 24 2005 and it becomes clear that the idea proposed by our CM was stolen.
- … The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University will encourage studies on tribal art, culture and traditions, forests and natural resources. Tribal students will be given priority in admission. … The D. Swaminadhan Committee, set up by the University Grants Commission, recommended the setting up of a varsity exclusively for promoting tribal culture and providing tribals access to higher education.
On an IIT in Orissa:
This is also a good opportunity, we must remind the PM regarding the IIT for Orissa being announced and then getting shifted. Following are some pointers on that.
- A green field IIT in Orissa and a branch campus of IIT Kharagpur in Bhubaneswar had been decided in MHRD, so much so that On August 28th 2006, Union minister of state for Human Resources and Development Mr. M. Fatmi said the following Patna. (This was reported in Times of India on Aug 29th 2006, and available for everyone to see at
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1933613.cms and http://iitorissa.googlepages.com/PUmayfinallygetCentralvarsitystatus-.pdf )
- Mr. Arjun Singh himslef had also given word to the CM regarding a branch campus of IIT Kharagpur in Bhubaneswar. His meeting with the CM had been reported on September 29 2006 as follows: The Chief Minister, Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik met the Union Minister for Human Resources development, Shri Arjun Singh today to discuss about the establishment of a campus of IIT, Kharagpur in Orissa. Shri Patnaik stated that the Government of Orissa have offered 300 acres of land next to Bhubaneswar city for setting up the campus and the State Government is fully committed to provide all necessary assistance for the institution. Since Orissa is fast emerging as a hub for industrial activities, an institution of the stature of IIT will provide the much needed boost to the efforts of the Government in providing support to these industries. The Union Minister, Shri Arjun Singh stated that the Central Government is positively inclined for setting up such an institution soon.
- More points.
References:
Pioneer: Arjun hijacks plans for KBK varisty
Pioneer and Tathya.in don’t mince words when they have articles with headlines “Arjun hijacks plans for KBK varsity” and “Arjun hijacks Naveen’s plans.” With permission from the author I am including the full Pioneer article below.
[If you are outraged by this you may write to various people (PM etc.; Orissa MPs; national editors; accredited media in Delhi) and send a fax to Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu ( Personal Secy: 09868501233 off: 011-23792469,23792470 Fax 011-23061695), the sole central minister from Orissa. May be he has a spine and he will take the letters to the PM and do a dharana there.]
Arjun hijacks plans for KBK varisty
Braja Kishore Mishra | Bhubaneswar
… Union Cabinet gives nod for setting up institution in MP
Union Minister for Human Resources and Development Arjun Singh has once again humiliated Orissa by hijacking its original plan to set up a Central Tribal University in the KBK region comprising the State’s undivided districts of Koaraput, Balangir and Kalahandi.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, while meeting the Minister in 2005 October (typo corrected), had mooted the idea of setting up a KBK central university. It was based on the theory of empowerment of tribals with higher education.
Patnaik had pleaded with the Central authorities that the concentration of tribals is the highest in KBK and their uplift hinged on education. He had pointed out that the literacy rate among the people of this region was much below 50 per cent.
He had argued that setting up a Central University in the region would go a long way in encouraging higher education among the tribal population. The university could also set up specialised centres for tribal development-related studies, as tribal development is one of the biggest challenges facing the country today.
While Arjun Singh had promised Patnaik in clear terms that his HRD Ministry would positively consider the proposal, the result is now otherwise. The Union Cabinet on Friday gave its approval for establishment of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh with Central Government funding.
It also approved introduction of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Bill, 2007 in Parliament. This will ensure establishment of a teaching and affiliating university for facilitating and promoting avenues of higher education and research facilities for the tribal population of the country.
Apart from affiliating the colleges, the university has the power to establish such number of its own regional centres in tribal areas as it may deem fit.
There will be at least one school in every regional centre to serve as a model school for the schools of the region, wherefrom the tribal students would be expected to join the local colleges, the off-campuses or the university. The objectives of the university include promoting studies and research in tribal art, culture, tradition, language, custom, medicinal systems, forest based economic activities, including special studies in the flora and fauna, and advancements in technologies relating to natural resources of the tribal areas.
Now, it is abundantly clear that Singh not only hijacked Patnaik’s idea but also saw to it that Orissa would never get a Central University in the KBK region on the lines of huge tribal concentration. Since the UPA is at the helm of affairs at the Centre, Singh is playing havoc with Orissa and the State is losing one after another national institutions to other States. While Minister of State of HRD MA Fatmi had announced a proposal to set up an IIT in Orissa, it was later shifted to Andhra Pradesh by Singh, on political considerations, said sources.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Patnaik sets agenda well ahead of polls
BHUBANESWAR: Naveen Patnaik, the Orissa chief minister and the party supremo of ruling Biju Janata Dal has set the agenda for the state assembly elections well ahead of two years.
“The Centre’s Congress-led UPA government is the enemy of Orissa’’, thundered Patnaik, in his usual style of throwing surprises, at a meeting recently at Berhampur in Southern Orissa . Announcing that his party will launch a massive campaign against the Centre’s neglect to the state, he urged his party men to take the message to the grass root level.
Patnaik’s list of Centre’s neglect to the state includes shifting of IIT to Andhra Pradesh , delay in coal royalty revision, paltry flood assistance, slow progress in setting up the All India Medical Science campus at Bhubaneswar, and poor fund allocation for the rural electrification. To run down the UPA government, the chief minister promptly announced Biju Gram Jyoti Yojna to electrify the villages and hamlets with population below 300 as the Centre’s Rajiv Gramin Vidyut Yojna does not cover these villages. Not only that the state government provided Rs.50 crore in the budget 2007-08.
Patnaik turning to be a rebel was unthinkable. For, he was basking under the praise showered by the UPA’s Congress ministers like Shivraj Patil, Mani Sankar Iyer during the last three years. Such was the situation that many in Orissa were believing that Patnaik, a Doon school mate of Rajiv Gandhi, has a 10 Janpath connections.
His recent rhetoric, however, has put the Congress leaders in the state in a piquant situation. They are not a in position to attack Patnaik for the party’s Central ministers have given certificates to Naveen government in the recent past.
The opposition Congress in the state was virtually pushed to defensive. Its leaders tried to defend the UPA government’s role vis-a-vis the state government. The Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president, Jaydev Jena,” The state has immensely benefited from the UPA government at the Centre”, says Jaydev Jena , the president of Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC). “ Naveen’s new stand against Centre is only to divert his government failure”, he adds. Jena listed out the largesse the Centre has given to the state to drive home his point . According to him, the UPA government has included the Long Term Action Plan for KBK region in the 11th Plan period, extended the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme extended to another five districts, and it has decided to set up institute of national importance like the National Institute for Science and Education Research (NISER) at Bhubaneswar and the National Institute of Handloom Technology (NIHT) at Bargarh. His list also includes the Centre’s initiative to start the work of the Paradip Petro-chemical complex.
JB Patnaik, who ruled the state nearly 15 years, also came out with statistics to defend the Congress government at the Centre. Pointing out that the state has got a higher annual plan outlay under the UPA government, he says that the plan outlay has been increased to Rs 5105 crore as against the state’s proposal for Rs 4850 crore in 2007-08.
In 2006-07, the same has been increased to Rs 3500 crore from Rs 3400 crore. The previous year, the outlay was increased to Rs 3000 crore from the proposed Rs 2800 crore by the Planning commission. Drawing a comparison with the NDA government, the former chief minister says that the state has received lesser plan outlay between 2001-02 and 2004-05. The plan outlay was cut to Rs 2500 crore from Rs.3300 crore in 2004-05 and to Rs 3200 crore from Rs.3300 in 2003-04.
In fact, the tone for the state Congress was set by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Orissa, V.Narayan Swami. He urged the Congressmen to attack the chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He gave a call for a massive campaign to highlight misrule and non-performance of the Naveen Patnaik government.
The state elections is due in May 2009. But, it is clear from now that the next elections will be fought on the issue of Centre’s attitude towards the state.
“The Centre’s Congress-led UPA government is the enemy of Orissa’’, thundered Patnaik, in his usual style of throwing surprises, at a meeting recently at Berhampur in Southern Orissa . Announcing that his party will launch a massive campaign against the Centre’s neglect to the state, he urged his party men to take the message to the grass root level.
Patnaik’s list of Centre’s neglect to the state includes shifting of IIT to Andhra Pradesh , delay in coal royalty revision, paltry flood assistance, slow progress in setting up the All India Medical Science campus at Bhubaneswar, and poor fund allocation for the rural electrification. To run down the UPA government, the chief minister promptly announced Biju Gram Jyoti Yojna to electrify the villages and hamlets with population below 300 as the Centre’s Rajiv Gramin Vidyut Yojna does not cover these villages. Not only that the state government provided Rs.50 crore in the budget 2007-08.
Patnaik turning to be a rebel was unthinkable. For, he was basking under the praise showered by the UPA’s Congress ministers like Shivraj Patil, Mani Sankar Iyer during the last three years. Such was the situation that many in Orissa were believing that Patnaik, a Doon school mate of Rajiv Gandhi, has a 10 Janpath connections.
His recent rhetoric, however, has put the Congress leaders in the state in a piquant situation. They are not a in position to attack Patnaik for the party’s Central ministers have given certificates to Naveen government in the recent past.
The opposition Congress in the state was virtually pushed to defensive. Its leaders tried to defend the UPA government’s role vis-a-vis the state government. The Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president, Jaydev Jena,” The state has immensely benefited from the UPA government at the Centre”, says Jaydev Jena , the president of Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC). “ Naveen’s new stand against Centre is only to divert his government failure”, he adds. Jena listed out the largesse the Centre has given to the state to drive home his point . According to him, the UPA government has included the Long Term Action Plan for KBK region in the 11th Plan period, extended the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme extended to another five districts, and it has decided to set up institute of national importance like the National Institute for Science and Education Research (NISER) at Bhubaneswar and the National Institute of Handloom Technology (NIHT) at Bargarh. His list also includes the Centre’s initiative to start the work of the Paradip Petro-chemical complex.
JB Patnaik, who ruled the state nearly 15 years, also came out with statistics to defend the Congress government at the Centre. Pointing out that the state has got a higher annual plan outlay under the UPA government, he says that the plan outlay has been increased to Rs 5105 crore as against the state’s proposal for Rs 4850 crore in 2007-08.
In 2006-07, the same has been increased to Rs 3500 crore from Rs 3400 crore. The previous year, the outlay was increased to Rs 3000 crore from the proposed Rs 2800 crore by the Planning commission. Drawing a comparison with the NDA government, the former chief minister says that the state has received lesser plan outlay between 2001-02 and 2004-05. The plan outlay was cut to Rs 2500 crore from Rs.3300 crore in 2004-05 and to Rs 3200 crore from Rs.3300 in 2003-04.
In fact, the tone for the state Congress was set by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Orissa, V.Narayan Swami. He urged the Congressmen to attack the chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He gave a call for a massive campaign to highlight misrule and non-performance of the Naveen Patnaik government.
The state elections is due in May 2009. But, it is clear from now that the next elections will be fought on the issue of Centre’s attitude towards the state.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Tathya: Plz; no politics over IIT
Bhubaneswar:7/June/2007
Playing politics over setting up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will harm the state, warned the Non Resident Oriyas(NRO)s.
While the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is playing truant over the issue, it is high time both Congress, BJD and BJP join hands to pressurize the Centre to agree for an IIT in Orissa.
NROs have sent hundreds of e-mail to the leaders of various political parties appealing for a joint action.
An IIT was announced for Orissa by the HRM Minister of State (MOS) M A Fatmi last year on Aug 28 in Patna.
Orissa will now be at the bottom of per-capita spending by MHRD on fully funded MHRD institutions.
With the very high level of industrialization and the 40+engineering colleges in Orissa (with about 30 of them in and around Bhubaneswar) there is a definite need for an IIT in Orissa which will allow faculty in these institutes to pursue M.Tech and/or Ph.D thus drastically improving those institutes as well as their graduates.
Many MPs of Orissa have raised the issue of IIT in Orissa in the parliament, the CM has met the HRD minister on this issues and it is reported that PCC President Jayadev Jena and Union Minister of State (MOS) Chandraskehar Sahu has met the PM on this issue.
Various groups all over Orissa have protested on the IIT issue and the newspapers have covered this issue so much so that a kid in a bettele shop in a small town Orissa knows about this.
However nothing concrete has come out of it and now while BJD and BJP are attacking the center for general neglect of Orissa, Congress has launched its own counter-attacks.
Both have forgotten that by this time other states with a united approach have received 23 new MHRD institutions with Kerala getting both a science institute IISER and a technology institute IIST (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology), Andhra receiving an IIT, a SPA and, possibly two additional IIT clones, and so on.
Under these circumstances the people of Orissa would like to remind all parties and especially, Congress and the BJD and BJP that the IIT Orissa is neither a Congress nor a BJP& BJD party matter; it is something that Orissa needs desperately.
It is a mega investment for Orissa; which has the potential changing the higher education atmosphere of Orissa; it is an attractor of high paying, high spending, low land guzzling, and low polluting jobs; the kind of jobs Orissa needs.
We urge and warn Congress and BJP & BJD to work together on it and not just make it an issue of political tug of war.
We want the CM and the Union minister Mr. Sahu to jointly and immediately meet the PM, HRD minister and the planning commission on this issue.
We want an all party resolution in the assembly and a All Party Legislators delegation to immediately visit Delhi and camp in Delhi to make the case.
We want whatever possible to be done so that Orissa is allocated an IIT in the 11th plan, said NROs.
We are sure that if joint teams pursue this earnestly then the Central Government will have not other way but to grant Orissa an IIT in the 11th plan.
Playing politics over setting up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will harm the state, warned the Non Resident Oriyas(NRO)s.
While the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is playing truant over the issue, it is high time both Congress, BJD and BJP join hands to pressurize the Centre to agree for an IIT in Orissa.
NROs have sent hundreds of e-mail to the leaders of various political parties appealing for a joint action.
An IIT was announced for Orissa by the HRM Minister of State (MOS) M A Fatmi last year on Aug 28 in Patna.
Orissa will now be at the bottom of per-capita spending by MHRD on fully funded MHRD institutions.
With the very high level of industrialization and the 40+engineering colleges in Orissa (with about 30 of them in and around Bhubaneswar) there is a definite need for an IIT in Orissa which will allow faculty in these institutes to pursue M.Tech and/or Ph.D thus drastically improving those institutes as well as their graduates.
Many MPs of Orissa have raised the issue of IIT in Orissa in the parliament, the CM has met the HRD minister on this issues and it is reported that PCC President Jayadev Jena and Union Minister of State (MOS) Chandraskehar Sahu has met the PM on this issue.
Various groups all over Orissa have protested on the IIT issue and the newspapers have covered this issue so much so that a kid in a bettele shop in a small town Orissa knows about this.
However nothing concrete has come out of it and now while BJD and BJP are attacking the center for general neglect of Orissa, Congress has launched its own counter-attacks.
Both have forgotten that by this time other states with a united approach have received 23 new MHRD institutions with Kerala getting both a science institute IISER and a technology institute IIST (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology), Andhra receiving an IIT, a SPA and, possibly two additional IIT clones, and so on.
Under these circumstances the people of Orissa would like to remind all parties and especially, Congress and the BJD and BJP that the IIT Orissa is neither a Congress nor a BJP& BJD party matter; it is something that Orissa needs desperately.
It is a mega investment for Orissa; which has the potential changing the higher education atmosphere of Orissa; it is an attractor of high paying, high spending, low land guzzling, and low polluting jobs; the kind of jobs Orissa needs.
We urge and warn Congress and BJP & BJD to work together on it and not just make it an issue of political tug of war.
We want the CM and the Union minister Mr. Sahu to jointly and immediately meet the PM, HRD minister and the planning commission on this issue.
We want an all party resolution in the assembly and a All Party Legislators delegation to immediately visit Delhi and camp in Delhi to make the case.
We want whatever possible to be done so that Orissa is allocated an IIT in the 11th plan, said NROs.
We are sure that if joint teams pursue this earnestly then the Central Government will have not other way but to grant Orissa an IIT in the 11th plan.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Pioneer: Cong on backfoot over IIT issue
Braja Kishore Mishra | Bhubaneswar
State Congress leaders are on a face saving mode. Failure on their part to impress the UPA Government at the Centre to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will have a humiliating effect on them, feel political analysts.
As the Budget Session of the State Assembly began on Friday, the leading Opposition party will face a determined Treasury Bench on various issues in general and that of IIT in particular, they say.
While the Gen X of the State is eagerly waiting for an IIT, the State Congress and its leaders have miserably failed to raise the issue and now some of its leaders are busy in patchworks.
After returning from New Delhi, PCC president Jayadev Jena said, "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to visit Orissa soon as he has requested him to visit the State shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored welfare programmes."
There was a similar report about Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting the Prime Minister and making him agree to come to the State to announce some new institutes such as Indian Institute of Handloom Technology.
A comparison of an IIT with the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in terms of investment is now being made. An analyst pointed out that as per the budget of the Department of Textiles, the total money for human resource development is Rs 3 crore. It seems that this Rs 3 crore includes the Budget for four existing handloom institutes in the country and probably the new one proposed at Bargarh in Orissa. In contrast, there is Rs 80 crore towards the groundwork for three new IITs and Rs 1,553 crore for the existing seven IITs. So, the annual Budget of an existing IIT is Rs 222 crore, while for an IIHT is at best Rs 1 crore.
Similarly, it takes Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore to make an IIT, while a handloom institute would be costing Rs 5 crore to Rs10 crore at best. IITs offer B.Tech, M.Tech and Ph.Ds and IIHT offers only diplomas. There is a genuine and urgent need for a topnotch IIT-type technological institute in the State.
Just in and around Bhubaneswar, there are 30-plus engineering colleges, but it has been alleged that the faculties of most of them are sub-standard. An IIT-type institute will allow these engineering colleges to send their faculties for a higher degree, thus having a huge impact on these colleges and their students. So, the State desperately and immediately needs an IIT or an equivalent institute, argue knowledgeable circles.
Sitting at a distance of thousands of miles in the USA and other countries, the non-resident Oriyas (NROs) impressed upon the BJD and BJP MPs to raise the issue of IIT in Parliament. The MPs of both parties and their NDA partners boycotted Lok Sabha recently in support of an IIT in the State. But Congress MPs both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha kept mum.
The other day when Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly JB Patnaik was asked about IIT, he said that the State Government is not serious about the issue as it has not sent any formal proposal to open an IIT in the Centre. But what prohibits him to raise the issue and impress the Prime Minister for an IIT, his critics ask.
This weakness of the Congress has not only made a serious dent in its image among the educated youth of the State but given an added advantage to the ruling coalition to ride a roughshod on the Opposition party during the month-long Assembly session, feel political observers.
State Congress leaders are on a face saving mode. Failure on their part to impress the UPA Government at the Centre to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will have a humiliating effect on them, feel political analysts.
As the Budget Session of the State Assembly began on Friday, the leading Opposition party will face a determined Treasury Bench on various issues in general and that of IIT in particular, they say.
While the Gen X of the State is eagerly waiting for an IIT, the State Congress and its leaders have miserably failed to raise the issue and now some of its leaders are busy in patchworks.
After returning from New Delhi, PCC president Jayadev Jena said, "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has agreed to visit Orissa soon as he has requested him to visit the State shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored welfare programmes."
There was a similar report about Union Minister of State for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting the Prime Minister and making him agree to come to the State to announce some new institutes such as Indian Institute of Handloom Technology.
A comparison of an IIT with the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in terms of investment is now being made. An analyst pointed out that as per the budget of the Department of Textiles, the total money for human resource development is Rs 3 crore. It seems that this Rs 3 crore includes the Budget for four existing handloom institutes in the country and probably the new one proposed at Bargarh in Orissa. In contrast, there is Rs 80 crore towards the groundwork for three new IITs and Rs 1,553 crore for the existing seven IITs. So, the annual Budget of an existing IIT is Rs 222 crore, while for an IIHT is at best Rs 1 crore.
Similarly, it takes Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore to make an IIT, while a handloom institute would be costing Rs 5 crore to Rs10 crore at best. IITs offer B.Tech, M.Tech and Ph.Ds and IIHT offers only diplomas. There is a genuine and urgent need for a topnotch IIT-type technological institute in the State.
Just in and around Bhubaneswar, there are 30-plus engineering colleges, but it has been alleged that the faculties of most of them are sub-standard. An IIT-type institute will allow these engineering colleges to send their faculties for a higher degree, thus having a huge impact on these colleges and their students. So, the State desperately and immediately needs an IIT or an equivalent institute, argue knowledgeable circles.
Sitting at a distance of thousands of miles in the USA and other countries, the non-resident Oriyas (NROs) impressed upon the BJD and BJP MPs to raise the issue of IIT in Parliament. The MPs of both parties and their NDA partners boycotted Lok Sabha recently in support of an IIT in the State. But Congress MPs both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha kept mum.
The other day when Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly JB Patnaik was asked about IIT, he said that the State Government is not serious about the issue as it has not sent any formal proposal to open an IIT in the Centre. But what prohibits him to raise the issue and impress the Prime Minister for an IIT, his critics ask.
This weakness of the Congress has not only made a serious dent in its image among the educated youth of the State but given an added advantage to the ruling coalition to ride a roughshod on the Opposition party during the month-long Assembly session, feel political observers.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tathya.in: IIT issue to hit Congress
Bhubaneswar:31/May/2007
Orissa Congress leaders have no face to save.
Failure on the part of the State Congress leaders to impress upon the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will have a humiliating effect on them, feel political analysts.
As the Budget Session of the Orissa Legislative Assembly (OLA) begins on June 1, the leading opposition party will face a determined Treasury Bench on various issues in general and IIT in particular,they say.
While the Gen X of the state is eagerly waiting for an IIT, the State Congress Party and its leaders have miserably failed to raise the issue of IIT and now some of its leaders are busy in patch works.
To the utter amazement of youth top leaders are busy in whoodwinking the people.
After returning from New Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Jaydev Jena said “Prime Minister (PM) Dr Man Mohan Singh has agreed to visit Orissa soon.
Jena requested PM to visit Orissa shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored welfare program in the state to which the latter agreed."
There was a similar report about Union Minister of State (MOS) for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting the PM and Dr. Singh agreeing to come to Orissa.
And that he may announce some new institutes such as Indian Institute of Handloom Technology.
Lets compare an IIT with the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in terms of investment, said an analyst.
As per the budget of the Department of Textiles the total money for human resource development is Rs 3 crores.
It seems like this Rs. 3 crore includes the budget for 4 existing handloom institutes and probably as well as the new one proposed in Bargarh.
In contrast there is Rs. 80 crores towards the groundwork for 3 new IITs and Rs. 1553 crores for the exisiting 7 IITs .
So annual budget of an existing IIT is Rs. 222 crores while for an IIHT (Indian Institute of Handloom Technology) it is at best Rs. 1 crore.
Similarly it takes Rs. 1000-4000 crores to make an IIT and for an handloom institute would be costing Rs. 5-10 crores at best.
IITs offer B.tech. M.Tech and Ph.Ds and IIHT offers only diplomas.
There is a genuine and urgent need for a top-notch IIT type technological institute.
Just in and around Bhubaneswar we have 30 plus engineering colleges, but it has been alleged that their faculty is sub-standard.
An IIT type institute will allow these engineering colleges to send their faculty for a higher degree thus having a huge impact on these colleges and their students.
So Orissa desperately and immediately need an IIT or an equivalent institute.
Sitting at a distance of thousands of miles in USA and other countries the Non Resident Oriyas (NRO)s impressed upon the Member of Parliament (MP)of BJD and BJP to raise the issue of IIT in the Parliament.
MPs of both the parties and NDA partners boycotted Lok Sabha recently in support of an IIT in Orissa.
But Congress MPs both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha kept mum.
The other day when the Opposition Leader J B Patnaik was asked about IIT he said the State Government is not serious about the issue as they have not sent any formal proposal to open an IIT to the Centre.
But what prohibits you to raise the issue and impress the PM for an IIT, he engaged himself in the blame game.
The point is abundantly clear that the myopic and timid leaders of the Congress are not in a position to put their weight on the central leadership for an emotional and justified demand like an IIT.
This weakness of Congress has not only made a serious dent of their declining image among the educated youth of the state but also gives an added advantage to the ruling coalition to ride roughshod on them during the month long session the House, feel political pundits.
Orissa Congress leaders have no face to save.
Failure on the part of the State Congress leaders to impress upon the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will have a humiliating effect on them, feel political analysts.
As the Budget Session of the Orissa Legislative Assembly (OLA) begins on June 1, the leading opposition party will face a determined Treasury Bench on various issues in general and IIT in particular,they say.
While the Gen X of the state is eagerly waiting for an IIT, the State Congress Party and its leaders have miserably failed to raise the issue of IIT and now some of its leaders are busy in patch works.
To the utter amazement of youth top leaders are busy in whoodwinking the people.
After returning from New Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Jaydev Jena said “Prime Minister (PM) Dr Man Mohan Singh has agreed to visit Orissa soon.
Jena requested PM to visit Orissa shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored welfare program in the state to which the latter agreed."
There was a similar report about Union Minister of State (MOS) for Rural Development Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting the PM and Dr. Singh agreeing to come to Orissa.
And that he may announce some new institutes such as Indian Institute of Handloom Technology.
Lets compare an IIT with the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in terms of investment, said an analyst.
As per the budget of the Department of Textiles the total money for human resource development is Rs 3 crores.
It seems like this Rs. 3 crore includes the budget for 4 existing handloom institutes and probably as well as the new one proposed in Bargarh.
In contrast there is Rs. 80 crores towards the groundwork for 3 new IITs and Rs. 1553 crores for the exisiting 7 IITs .
So annual budget of an existing IIT is Rs. 222 crores while for an IIHT (Indian Institute of Handloom Technology) it is at best Rs. 1 crore.
Similarly it takes Rs. 1000-4000 crores to make an IIT and for an handloom institute would be costing Rs. 5-10 crores at best.
IITs offer B.tech. M.Tech and Ph.Ds and IIHT offers only diplomas.
There is a genuine and urgent need for a top-notch IIT type technological institute.
Just in and around Bhubaneswar we have 30 plus engineering colleges, but it has been alleged that their faculty is sub-standard.
An IIT type institute will allow these engineering colleges to send their faculty for a higher degree thus having a huge impact on these colleges and their students.
So Orissa desperately and immediately need an IIT or an equivalent institute.
Sitting at a distance of thousands of miles in USA and other countries the Non Resident Oriyas (NRO)s impressed upon the Member of Parliament (MP)of BJD and BJP to raise the issue of IIT in the Parliament.
MPs of both the parties and NDA partners boycotted Lok Sabha recently in support of an IIT in Orissa.
But Congress MPs both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha kept mum.
The other day when the Opposition Leader J B Patnaik was asked about IIT he said the State Government is not serious about the issue as they have not sent any formal proposal to open an IIT to the Centre.
But what prohibits you to raise the issue and impress the PM for an IIT, he engaged himself in the blame game.
The point is abundantly clear that the myopic and timid leaders of the Congress are not in a position to put their weight on the central leadership for an emotional and justified demand like an IIT.
This weakness of Congress has not only made a serious dent of their declining image among the educated youth of the state but also gives an added advantage to the ruling coalition to ride roughshod on them during the month long session the House, feel political pundits.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
UPA discrimination on Orissa : No IIT, no fund
UPA discrimination on Orissa
No IIT, no fund
From Sanjaya Jena, Bhubaneswar
“The recent reply of Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development on the floor of the Parliament regarding establishment of IITs in the country has come as a shock to us.”
The backout of the union government from its promise to set up an Indian Institute of Technology in Orissa has resulted in widespread protests in the state. Social organisations and political parties—especially the ruling BJP and BJD—are contemplating to organise statewide protest rallies in the state after the ongoing Parliament session is over.
“The union government, which had earlier backed out from many of its promises, has once again betrayed the people of Orissa by changing its mind on setting up an IIT in the state. We will certainly protest this kind of injustice meted out to the state,” BJP national secretary Dharmendra Pradhan said.
The BJD and BJP Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members staged a dharna in front of the Parliament to register their protest.
It is worthwhile mentioning here that while replying to a calling attention motion moved by MPs from Orissa demanding an Indian Institute of Technology, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeshwari said that the union government had approved three IITs for Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. The new IITs were decided on recommendations of the Planning Commission and Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Council, the minister said.
“The union minister of state for Human Resource Development Mohammed Fatmi had said in August, 2006 in Patna that an Indian Institute of Technology would be set up in Orissa. Then, why was the decision changed?” Shri Tripathy asked.
However, minister Smt Purandeshwari denied that Shri Fatmi had made such a statement. “Setting up a new IIT would cost over Rs 1,000 crore,” she said in Parliament, adding, the government had never decided to set up such an institute in Orissa.
Dissatisfied with Smt Purandeshwari’s reply, the BJP and BJD members staged a walkout.
Taking up the demand for the setting-up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Orissa, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Meanwhile, BJP has taken to streets with a dharna staged before Raj Bhawan alleging central apathy.
In a letter dispatched to the Prime Minister, Shri Patnaik urged the Centre to ensure setting-up of an IIT in the state during the 11th Five-Year Plan.
“The recent reply of Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development on the floor of the Parliament regarding establishment of IITs in the country has come as a shock to us,” Shri Patnaik said in the letter.
He further said that there was a proposal to open a branch of IIT, Kharagpur, in Bhubaneswar for which the state government had promised a land of nearly 300 acres. It appears that even this proposal has been turned down, he added.
The recent decision of government of India to locate IITs in states which already had got the benefit of many central institutes indicates that objective criteria has not been followed in deciding the locations of the three IITs, Shri Patnaik argued.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
PM to visit Orissa again soon: we need to act fast
Dear all:
Pragativadi reports http://pragativadi.com/250507/other.htm#4 :
"PM to visit Orissa Bhubaneswar: Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh
has agreed to visit Orissa soon. The consent of the prime minister
came during his meeting with the OPCC president Jayadev Jena in New
Delhi on Thursday. At the meeting, Jena requested Singh to visit
Orissa shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored
welfare programmes in the state to which the latter agreed."
There was a similar report about minister Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting
the PM and the PM agreeing to come to Orissa and that he may announce some new institutes. (See http://www.orissawatch.org/?p=187 )
Chandrasekhar babu's contact:
http://esuvidha.nic.in/orissa/orissadirectory/full_list.asp ?page=73&individualname=&rowcount=1 http://rural.nic.in/telephonelist.asp
http://www.orissawatch.org/?p=187
This reminds me of last year when there was similar news. At that time we
made it clear to Orissa Congress and the PM that they can not give Orissa
an inferior institute instead of the NIS/IISER. Perhaps that had some bearing on the PM explicitly stating that NISER will be at par with an IISER.
We need to do the same thing now. We need to convey to the Orissa Congress and the PM that we are not stupid and gullible. We will not be swayed by losing an IIT of 1000-4000 crores and getting some other institute worth 5 crore.
Whatever institutes the PM declares in Orissa, at least one of them
must be at par with an IIT. Otherwise, it will be clear to us what the PM and Orissa congress think of Oriyas: as stupid people and coolies. The people of Orissa will not take such label kindly and Congress will then have to pay for it during future elections.
My appeal: Please use whatever means to convey this to the PM and Orissa Congress biggies.
best regards
Chitta
Pragativadi reports http://pragativadi.com/250507
"PM to visit Orissa Bhubaneswar: Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh
has agreed to visit Orissa soon. The consent of the prime minister
came during his meeting with the OPCC president Jayadev Jena in New
Delhi on Thursday. At the meeting, Jena requested Singh to visit
Orissa shortly and review several ongoing Centrally-sponsored
welfare programmes in the state to which the latter agreed."
There was a similar report about minister Chandrasekhar Sahu meeting
the PM and the PM agreeing to come to Orissa and that he may announce some new institutes. (See http://www.orissawatch.org/?p
Chandrasekhar babu's contact:
http://esuvidha.nic.in/orissa/orissadirectory/full_list.asp ?page=73&individualname=
http://www.orissawatch.org/?p
This reminds me of last year when there was similar news. At that time we
made it clear to Orissa Congress and the PM that they can not give Orissa
an inferior institute instead of the NIS/IISER. Perhaps that had some bearing on the PM explicitly stating that NISER will be at par with an IISER.
We need to do the same thing now. We need to convey to the Orissa Congress and the PM that we are not stupid and gullible. We will not be swayed by losing an IIT of 1000-4000 crores and getting some other institute worth 5 crore.
Whatever institutes the PM declares in Orissa, at least one of them
must be at par with an IIT. Otherwise, it will be clear to us what the PM and Orissa congress think of Oriyas: as stupid people and coolies. The people of Orissa will not take such label kindly and Congress will then have to pay for it during future elections.
My appeal: Please use whatever means to convey this to the PM and Orissa Congress biggies.
best regards
Chitta
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Pioneer: Naveen may declare war on Centre at rally in Ganjam
| Naveen may declare war on Centre at rally in Ganjam | |||
| |||
| Patnaik's scheduled visit to the district has been finalised and he is going to address a huge gathering of the party cadre, including newly elected Sarpanch, Panchayat Samiti members, block chairpersons, Zilla Parishad members and district MLAs at the Khallikote College stadium. | |||
| At least 5,000 workers from the grassroots level are expected to attend the meeting, in which Patnaik may urge them to fight against the apathetic attitude of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre. A couple of Ministers are also expected to attend the public meeting, which is going to be held for the first time after the recent panchayat elections. | |||
| The preparatory meeting of the party leaders, attended by Minister Patro, was held keeping in mind the importance of the visit of the party supremo. A committee has been formed to look after the details of the public meeting, and the party leaders have been entrusted with various work to ensure that it is a success. | |||
| It was evident from the discussion held among the party leaders at the Circuit House that the party is preparing to raise its cadre base to at least 30 lakh by June-end this year and is targeting 40 lakh by 2008. | |||
| Various issues may be raised at the Patnaik's public rally against the apathetic attitude, negligence and discrimination of the Central Government towards the State in matters such as the establishment of an IIT. The party cadre would launch a movement in the rural areas where they would create a public opinion among the people about the "anti-people" policy of the UPA Government. | |||
| Apart from creating public opinion against the Centre, the BJD cadre would try to generate a favourable opinion for the party by informing the people about the successes and achievements of the BJD-BJP alliance Government during the last seven years. | |||
| It may be recalled that Naveen Patnaik, while addressing a meeting of the party's elected block chairpersons and vice-chairpersons in Bhubaneswar earlier this week, had come down heavily on the UPA Government and had declared that the State would no longer approach the Centre with a begging bowl for funds for its genuine requirements and that the State would give a fitting reply to the Centre's attitude. | |||
Janashakti demands IIT in Orissa
Janashakti to launch stir against Centre’s apathy
The New Indian Express, Thursday May 24 2007 13:06 IST
BHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janashakti Party’s State unit has decided to launch a Statewide agitation against the UPA Government at the Centre for ignoring the State Government demand for an IIT.
Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, State unit president Aurobinda Dhali said the change of stand of the UPA Government at the eleventh hour by denying Orissa an IIT is deplorable. The State which is poised for rapid industrialisation deserves an IIT.
Besides, the State has hardly any institute of national importance while other States have many, he added.
Dhali also flayed the Centre for not providing funds for the Netaji Subas Bose All India Institute of Medical Sciences for which the State Government had already allotted land. He blamed the previous NDA Government for not making any budgetary provision for the six AIIMS after making the announcement.
The party has decided to organise a rally in the city to protest the Centre’s apathy to the State and send a memorandum to the President through the Governor soon. District-level rallies will also be organised, he said.
The New Indian Express, Thursday May 24 2007 13:06 IST
BHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janashakti Party’s State unit has decided to launch a Statewide agitation against the UPA Government at the Centre for ignoring the State Government demand for an IIT.
Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, State unit president Aurobinda Dhali said the change of stand of the UPA Government at the eleventh hour by denying Orissa an IIT is deplorable. The State which is poised for rapid industrialisation deserves an IIT.
Besides, the State has hardly any institute of national importance while other States have many, he added.
Dhali also flayed the Centre for not providing funds for the Netaji Subas Bose All India Institute of Medical Sciences for which the State Government had already allotted land. He blamed the previous NDA Government for not making any budgetary provision for the six AIIMS after making the announcement.
The party has decided to organise a rally in the city to protest the Centre’s apathy to the State and send a memorandum to the President through the Governor soon. District-level rallies will also be organised, he said.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
IIT: NSUI plans stir reports The New Indian Express
BHUBANESWAR: The National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Tuesday announced to launch a statewide agitation, demanding establishment of an IIT in the State.
Addressing the media, all India General Secretary of the NSUI Ashok Basaya said the organisation would take up the issue with the central leadership of Congress.
Addressing the media, all India General Secretary of the NSUI Ashok Basaya said the organisation would take up the issue with the central leadership of Congress.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
IIT in Orissa: Plan of action
Dear all:
Thank you for all that you have already done for the IIT in Orissa cause. We are chronicling the efforts and happenings at http://iitorissa.org and http://orissawatch.org
Thank you for all that you have already done for the IIT in Orissa cause. We are chronicling the efforts and happenings at http://iitorissa.org and http://orissawatch.org
Based on various news reports following is the current situation -in a nutshell-with respect to getting an IIT in Orissa.
- The media is regularly covering the issue and the general people in streets have become aware of the issue of IIT as well as the central neglect/injustice/discriminatio
n against Orissa. http://iitorissa.org http://orissawatch.org - The Orissa MPs, polticians, and the CM are all frequently mentioning the IIT issue as well as the central neglect/injustice/discriminatio
n against Orissa.
http://iits-11thplan.blogspot.com/2007/05/naveen-slams http://iits-11thplan.blogspot-centre-for-ignoring-orissa .html .com/2007/05/bjd-calls-for http://iits-11thplan.blogspot-economic-blockade-against.html .com/2007/05/arjun-confused -naveen-on-iit-issue.html - The congress people in Orissa have become aware of the importance of these issues and the congress minister Chandrasekhar Sahu has discussed it with the PM and the PM seems to be suggesting that he will announce some institutes in a few months when he comes to Orissa. http://iits-11thplan.blogspot
.com/2007/05/cong-counters http://iits-11thplan.blogspot-naveens-charges-point-by.html .com/2007/05/lalit-patnaiks http://iits-11thplan.blogspot-report-on-delhi-visit-by.html .com/2007/05/chandrasekhar -sahu-meets-pm-on-iit.html
With that background we can do the following:
- Write/call/email to Orissa MPs and convery to them that they should meet the PM and make a case for an IIT (and more) to him. http://iits.11thplan.googlepage
s.com/contact2 - Write/call/email the Orissa CM and convey to them that he should meet the PM and make a case for an IIT (and more) to him. http://iits.11thplan.googlepage
s.com/contact2 - Write/call/email Congress leaders from Orissa, especially minister Chandrasekhar Sahu and convey to him that we are not stupid; a 1000-4000 crore IIT can not be substituted by 2-3 small 2-3 crore type institutes or institutes (like IIIT made via PPP, or central university type funding to one university in each state) that all states will be getting anyway. Note each state is supposed to get a IIIT and one university in each state is supposed to become a central university equivalent. So those don't count. WE NEED AN IIT or AN IIT EQUIVALENT. This message must be conveyed to the PM directly or via Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu. http://esuvidha.nic.in/orissa
/orissadirectory/full_list.asp ?page=73&individualname=&rowcount=1 http://rural.nic.in/telephoneli st.asp - Spread this message to other Oriyas.
Chitta
Cong counters Naveen�s charges point by point. ... NOT!
New Indian Express article (begin)
BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Sunday strongly reacted to the charges made by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that it has neglected the State always and is an enemy of Orissa.
Criticising the State Government for its �all-round failure�, president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Jaydeb Jena said for the first time cotton farmers have committed suicide in the State.
Alleging that the criticism was only a ploy to divert the Government�s failure during the past seven years, Jena asserted that the State has benefited immensely from the UPA Government at the Centre.
Listing the steps taken by the Centre in different sectors for the development of the State, Jena said the KBK scheme has been included under the Eleventh Five Year Plan and a special annual allocation of Rs 250 crore made for the region.
The Centre has also included 24 out of 30 districts in NREGS. Countering charges that the UPA Government has neglected the State in the education sector, Jena said a decision has been taken to set up the National Institute of Handloom Technology (NIHT) at Bargarh and NISER in Bhubaneswar.
The UPA Government has also not neglected Orissa in the industrial sector which is evident from the initiative taken by the Centre to start work of the Paradip refinery project, he said.
New Indian Express article (end)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My counter:
Although RTI and NREGS are two good initiatives by the UPA government, its actions
with respect to the education sector in Orissa is downright dismal and discriminatory.
First NISER was announced to compensate for the shifting of NIS that was decided during
the NDA government.
Next the Instutite of Handloom Technology will have a budget of a few crores at most
(or less) while budgets of IITs are 1000-4000 crores. IITs offer B.tech. M.Tech and Ph.Ds
and Handloom Technology institute offers only diplomas.
So Does Mr. Jena and his congress party think that people of Orissa are stupid and are
coolies that they won't know the difference between a 1000-4000 crore IIT and
a (at best) 1-2 crore Handloom Technology institute?
Mr. Jena, by his statement of equating an (at best) 1-2 crore handloom technology
institute with an IIT is digging the grave of Congress in Orissa.
Also, Does Mr. Jena know how to read? If so can you please ask him to find
Orissa in the list of 23 institutes that the MHRD has so far announced in India.
Here is the list that appeared in Samaja and Sambada.
congress leaders that people of Orissa are no longer going to
tolerate such discrimination and if congress follows the path it is taking
vis-a-vis Orissa, its future in Orissa is doomed.
sincerely,
Chitta Baral
ps -- Please note that as per http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2007-08/eb/sbe91.pdf (5.11)
the budget of the Dept. of Textiles the total money for Human Resource Development is Rs 3 crores. It seems like this 3 crores includes the budget for 4 existing handloom institutes and probably as well as the new one proposed in Bargarh.
In contrast as per http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2007-08/eb/sbe57.pdf there is 80 crores towards the groundwork for 3 new IITs (line 75) and 1553 crores for the exisiting 7 IITs (line 50).
So annual budget of an exisiting IIT is at 222 crores while for an IIHT (Indian Inst of Handloom Technology) it is at best 1 crore.
Please now compare what Orissa is losing (an IIT) and what it may be getting (an inst. of handloom technology) and how Mr. Jaydeb Jena is trying to convince us that they are equivalent.
BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Sunday strongly reacted to the charges made by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that it has neglected the State always and is an enemy of Orissa.
Criticising the State Government for its �all-round failure�, president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Jaydeb Jena said for the first time cotton farmers have committed suicide in the State.
Alleging that the criticism was only a ploy to divert the Government�s failure during the past seven years, Jena asserted that the State has benefited immensely from the UPA Government at the Centre.
Listing the steps taken by the Centre in different sectors for the development of the State, Jena said the KBK scheme has been included under the Eleventh Five Year Plan and a special annual allocation of Rs 250 crore made for the region.
The Centre has also included 24 out of 30 districts in NREGS. Countering charges that the UPA Government has neglected the State in the education sector, Jena said a decision has been taken to set up the National Institute of Handloom Technology (NIHT) at Bargarh and NISER in Bhubaneswar.
The UPA Government has also not neglected Orissa in the industrial sector which is evident from the initiative taken by the Centre to start work of the Paradip refinery project, he said.
New Indian Express article (end)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My counter:
Although RTI and NREGS are two good initiatives by the UPA government, its actions
with respect to the education sector in Orissa is downright dismal and discriminatory.
First NISER was announced to compensate for the shifting of NIS that was decided during
the NDA government.
Next the Instutite of Handloom Technology will have a budget of a few crores at most
(or less) while budgets of IITs are 1000-4000 crores. IITs offer B.tech. M.Tech and Ph.Ds
and Handloom Technology institute offers only diplomas.
So Does Mr. Jena and his congress party think that people of Orissa are stupid and are
coolies that they won't know the difference between a 1000-4000 crore IIT and
a (at best) 1-2 crore Handloom Technology institute?
Mr. Jena, by his statement of equating an (at best) 1-2 crore handloom technology
institute with an IIT is digging the grave of Congress in Orissa.
Also, Does Mr. Jena know how to read? If so can you please ask him to find
Orissa in the list of 23 institutes that the MHRD has so far announced in India.
Here is the list that appeared in Samaja and Sambada.
- IISER Kolkata, West Bengal (1)
- IISER Pune, Maharashtra (1)
- IISER Mohali, Punjab (1)
- IISER in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (1)
- IISER in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala (1)
- IIT in Andhra Pradesh (1)
- IIT in Rajasthan (1)
- IIT in Bihar (1)
- IIM at Shillong, Meghalaya (1)
- SPA in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh (2)
- SPA in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (2)
- Upgradation of Bengal Engineering and Sc U to an IIT clone (IIEST), West Bengal (2)
- Upgradation of Andhra Univ Engineering College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (3)
- Upgradation of Osmania Univ Engg College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (4)
- Upgradation of IT BHU to IIT clone (IIEST), Uttar Pradesh (1)
- Upgradation of Cochin Univ of Sc and Tech to IIT clone (IIEST), Kerala (2)
- IIIT Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu (1)
- Allahbad University made to a Central University, Uttar Pradesh (2)
- Manipur University made to a Central University, Manipur (1)
- Arunachal Pradesh university made to a Central University, Arunachal Pradesh (1)
- Tripura university made to a Central University, Tripura (1)
- New Central University in Sikkim, Sikkim (1)
- CIEFL Hyderabad made to a central university, Andhra Pradesh (5)
congress leaders that people of Orissa are no longer going to
tolerate such discrimination and if congress follows the path it is taking
vis-a-vis Orissa, its future in Orissa is doomed.
sincerely,
Chitta Baral
ps -- Please note that as per http://indiabudget.nic.in/ub2007-08/eb/sbe91.pdf (5.11)
the budget of the Dept. of Textiles the total money for Human Resource Development is Rs 3 crores. It seems like this 3 crores includes the budget for 4 existing handloom institutes and probably as well as the new one proposed in Bargarh.
In contrast as per http://indiabudget.nic.in
So annual budget of an exisiting IIT is at 222 crores while for an IIHT (Indian Inst of Handloom Technology) it is at best 1 crore.
Please now compare what Orissa is losing (an IIT) and what it may be getting (an inst. of handloom technology) and how Mr. Jaydeb Jena is trying to convince us that they are equivalent.
Naveen slams Centre for ignoring Orissa
New Delhi: Slamming the Centre's repeated negligence towards Orissa’s poverty-stricken areas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Sunday that poverty is Orissa's "enemy number one".
Expressing his displeasure on the Centre's allocation of a "paltry" Rs 16 crore for rural electrification in Orissa, Patnaik said the state government was contemplating to have its own programme for rural electrification.
"A new scheme would be announced soon for the purpose," he said. The state government had earlier announced two such schemes, one for the tribal people of the KBK (Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput) region and another for the poor living in the coastal region.
"It is poverty which is the stumbling block before the state's growth," he was quoted by PTI. Patnaik has directed the panchayat functionaries in the state to work for the people with whatever funds are available at the moment. He also asked grass-root level leaders to create awareness in rural areas about the developmental activities undertaken by the state government.
"Tell the villagers how the Congress-led UPA government has been adopting step-motherly attitude towards Orissa," he said adding the people should be aware as to how Congress leaders at the Centre have been "ignoring" Orissa's interest.
Bringing out a list before the rural leaders, Patnaik said the state government's repeated plea for setting up an IIT or an IIM had been ignored by the UPA government. "The rural people should know how the Centre behaves towards Orissa," he said.
To buttress his argument, the BJD supremo said the state's repeated demand for revision of royalty of minerals, including coal, had been ignored by the Central government.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Impact of a top-notch engineering college on its neighborhood
Earlier we had argued how a top-notch engineering college such an IIT has a huge impact on the area where it is located in. Following is an article providing more concrete examples of that.
Tech cos setting up R&D centres near engineering colleges SOBHA
MENON
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2007 02:01:09 AM] NEW DELHI:
Don’t be surprised if you start seeing quite a buzz around cities
with reputed engineering colleges. And an increase in prosperity
too, for that matter. There are more and more tech companies looking
to setting up their R&D centres close to engineering colleges in
places like Manipal, Udipi, Trichy, Madurai, Udipi and Kharagpur.
Sankalp Semiconductors, a two-year-old start-up with about 45
engineers working on analog and digital mixed signal technologies,
operates right from the BVB Engineering College premises in Hubli.
“Besides Hubli’s colleges, we recruit from campuses in Nanded,
Berhampur in Orissa and Durgapur. So we are planning to set up our
next R&D facility at Durgapur or Kharagpur,” says Vivek Pawar, CEO,
Sankalp Semiconductors.
There’s IT services company, Able Technologies too, that’s operated
out of Dharwar in Karnataka for the last two years. “I source most
of my engineers from colleges in north Karnataka, so I don’t see any
reason to live in a tier one city,” says Jagdish Hiremath, CEO, Able
Technologies.
Tier one cities with their problems of increasing operating costs,
conjestion and pollution, just fails to stack up against these
towns. “You can’t give much thought to innovation and creating IP if
you spend most of your time travelling — which is what I was doing
in Bangalore,” says Mr Pawar about his decision to move lock,stock
and barrel to Hubli two years ago.
Says Poornima Shenoy, president, Indian Semiconductors Association:
“Engineering colleges are indeed turning to be quite a draw for
semiconductor startups. And in many states, the government is doing
its best by setting up incubation facilities and providing good
infrastructure.” The success of companies such as Robosoft, a
software company in Udipi, and Karmic (Karnataka Microelectronic
Design Centre), a semiconductor solutions company in Manipal, could
also be a reason for companies feeling more confident about
operating from smaller towns and cities.
And no, employees too don’t mind leaving big cities to live in
places like Manipal and Udipi. “It’s the work atmosphere that we
provide here that matters to them — and so we have people who have
come from Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Manipur to work with us here in
Udipi,” a Robosoft official said. In fact, there are many who would
like return to their hometowns if only they had the job opportunity
there, says Mr Hiremath, who returned from the US to settle in
Dharwar. The tech boom’s apparently having a ripple effect.
Tech cos setting up R&D centres near engineering colleges SOBHA
MENON
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2007 02:01:09 AM] NEW DELHI:
Don’t be surprised if you start seeing quite a buzz around cities
with reputed engineering colleges. And an increase in prosperity
too, for that matter. There are more and more tech companies looking
to setting up their R&D centres close to engineering colleges in
places like Manipal, Udipi, Trichy, Madurai, Udipi and Kharagpur.
Sankalp Semiconductors, a two-year-old start-up with about 45
engineers working on analog and digital mixed signal technologies,
operates right from the BVB Engineering College premises in Hubli.
“Besides Hubli’s colleges, we recruit from campuses in Nanded,
Berhampur in Orissa and Durgapur. So we are planning to set up our
next R&D facility at Durgapur or Kharagpur,” says Vivek Pawar, CEO,
Sankalp Semiconductors.
There’s IT services company, Able Technologies too, that’s operated
out of Dharwar in Karnataka for the last two years. “I source most
of my engineers from colleges in north Karnataka, so I don’t see any
reason to live in a tier one city,” says Jagdish Hiremath, CEO, Able
Technologies.
Tier one cities with their problems of increasing operating costs,
conjestion and pollution, just fails to stack up against these
towns. “You can’t give much thought to innovation and creating IP if
you spend most of your time travelling — which is what I was doing
in Bangalore,” says Mr Pawar about his decision to move lock,stock
and barrel to Hubli two years ago.
Says Poornima Shenoy, president, Indian Semiconductors Association:
“Engineering colleges are indeed turning to be quite a draw for
semiconductor startups. And in many states, the government is doing
its best by setting up incubation facilities and providing good
infrastructure.” The success of companies such as Robosoft, a
software company in Udipi, and Karmic (Karnataka Microelectronic
Design Centre), a semiconductor solutions company in Manipal, could
also be a reason for companies feeling more confident about
operating from smaller towns and cities.
And no, employees too don’t mind leaving big cities to live in
places like Manipal and Udipi. “It’s the work atmosphere that we
provide here that matters to them — and so we have people who have
come from Uttaranchal, Rajasthan and Manipur to work with us here in
Udipi,” a Robosoft official said. In fact, there are many who would
like return to their hometowns if only they had the job opportunity
there, says Mr Hiremath, who returned from the US to settle in
Dharwar. The tech boom’s apparently having a ripple effect.
The complete IIT debate in LokSabha on May 8th 2007
http://164.100.24.208/ls/dailydeb/dailydebmain.asp
CALLING ATTENTION
Need to set up an Indian Institute of Technology in Orissa
1408 hours
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, I call the attention of the Minister of Human Resource Development to the following matter of urgent public importance and request that he may make a statement thereon:
“Need to set up an Indian Institute of Technology in Orissa as proposed in the Eleventh Five Year Plan and agreed to by the Government earlier.”
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Now, hon. Minister, Shrimati D. Purandeswari.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, where is the Cabinet Minister? This is most unfortunate. … (Interruptions) This shows the seriousness of the Government. … (Interruptions) Where is the Cabinet Minister? … (Interruptions) This is a regular business. … (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Please listen to me.
… (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Please listen to me.
… (Interruptions)
The Speaker has allowed her.
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI): Sir, I thank you. I also thank my colleagues for giving me this opportunity.
Presently, there are seven Indian Institutes of Technology in the country which are IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee and IIT Kanpur.
Based on the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education had sent a proposal to the Planning Commission to set up three new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the country during the 11th Five Year Plan. After receiving the ‘in-principle’ approval of the Planning Commission to the proposal and based on the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, it was proposed by the Ministry to set up three new IITs in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. … (Interruptions) Let me complete.
The Ministry is in the process of deciding the exact locations of IITs in these three States in consultation with the respective State Governments. The 11th Five Year Plan has not yet been finalized. However, it has never been agreed to by the Government to establish an IIT in Orissa during the 11th Five Year Plan.
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, this is most unfortunate. The Cabinet Minister is deliberately remains absent from the proceedings of the House. However, hon. Speaker has allowed. I am not saying anything on that. … (Interruptions)
He is worried and hurried. That is the difficulty. He is more interested in politics than the affairs of his own Ministry. This is interesting.
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Please address the Chair.
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): The reply given by the Minister is also very casual and misleading. The people of Orissa have not forgotten and recovered from the shock and insult that has been inflicted upon them by the motivated decision of the UPA Government with regard to the shifting of the National Institute of Science, about which we have discussed in this House a number of times, from Bhubaneswar to other place. Now, again the decision of the HRD Ministry, Department of Higher Education of the Government of India, for the change of location of the original proposal of establishment of a new IIT in Orissa to other State has added salt to its wound.
Sir, this shocking news has created great discontentment in the State. The students, teachers, intellectuals in particular and public in general are very much dissatisfied. This is happening under the UPA Government. Deliberately it is ignoring the cause of Orissa. They are deciding the location of establishment of the institute by political motivation and deliberately changing the location time and again. In the case of National Institute of Science also they had changed the original place and shifted it to the other State. Although the NDA Government took a decision to set up the National Institute of Science at Bhubaneswar, Orissa yet they have shifted it to other State ignoring the decision of the previous Government. Now also, in the case of IIT, as per the reply of the hon. Minister, the Government is taking the plea of the Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister. I am not able to understand it.
The Scientific Advisor to Prime Minister has advised him to set up IITs but he has not suggested at which place they should be set up. The Government has decided to establish three new green field Indian Institute of Technology during 11th Five Year Plan and the Planning Commission has agreed to it. The Planning Commission decided earlier that it will be decided in three States and Orissa was one among them. It was not the thinking of the Planning Commission alone. The Minister of State of HRD, my good friend, Shri Fatmi is sitting here. On 28th August, 2006 he had announced in Patna that one of these locations would be Orissa. I am not able to understand it now. I have the paper cuttings with me. He had announced on 28th August, 2006 in Patna that one of the locations would be Orissa. The State Government had also agreed to provide 300 acres of land for the purpose. If nothing of the sort was decided how could the State Government agree to offer 300 acres of land? It was decided earlier and subsequently the institute was shifted to Andhra Pradesh. Accidentally the hon. Minister who is now replying also belongs to Andhra Pradesh. I do not blame her.
It is the responsibility of the Ministry and the Cabinet Minister is absent. We do not have any objection in giving IITs to other States, be it Andhra Pradesh. Two engineering colleges with M.tech. and research facilities were allowed to be established in Andhra Pradesh by the HRD Ministry but Orissa does not have any such facility. This is our demand. When the Planning Commission has decided that Orissa will be one of the locations for this IIT what was the necessity to shift it to other State? We do not mind Andhra Pradesh getting the institute but why should it be shifted from our State? Why should Orissa be ignored? We do not have any IIT.
We have the maximum engineering colleges, of course private colleges, in the Eastern part of the country but an IIT is necessary to improve the faculty in research and PhD. We are ready to provide land. Our Chief Minister has written a letter to the Prime Minister requesting it to locate an IIT in Orissa. What is the difficulty in that? Why are they so much interested in poking their nose in national politics? Is this a Union Government or a State Government? I charge that the Ministry of HRD is functioning like a panchayat.
They are not functioning like a Union Ministry. So, the Union Minister should consider all the parts of the country as parts of the Union. They should not consider it on political basis. So, that is the difficulty which is shocking for us. Due to this, the people of Orissa are very much aggrieved. I have already told that there is the highest concentration of engineering colleges. So, this Ph.D. Degree would significantly help in improving the faculty. But we have been ignored.
I would also like to submit that the Governing Body of IIT, Kharagpur has also approved a full-fledged campus to be set up in Bhubaneswar. That is also one of our demands. The IIT, Kharagpur has requested the Ministry of Human Resource Development to do this by upgrading the existing extension centre entailing an investment of Rs.800 crore to Rs.900 crore. This proposal is also waiting the clearance from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. What has happened to this? IIT, Kharagpur has requested for this and the State Government has also agree to give land free of cost for this project. So, I want to know from the hon. Minister what is the real position now. I would like to know whether one green field IIT will be located in Orissa. As regards the proposal of IIT, Kharagpur for the extension campus at Bhubaneswar, we would like to know whether that is also under the consideration of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Are you giving approval for this project? I would request the Minister to reply to this.
It is also regrettable that Orissa finds itself at the bottom of per capita funding from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. This Ministry is funding all the States but the per capita investment of the Ministry is the lowest in Orissa. What is the difficulty? Why will Orissa be ignored? Is Orissa not part of this country? Why is this discrimination? I would like to know whether the Ministry of Human Resource Development is approving the IIT, Kharagpur and also giving an IIT to Orissa or not. Some how or the other this help will improve the imbalance and the position of Orissa. It will improve the situation to some extent. At present, the investment by the Ministry is the lowest in Orissa. So, if one green field IIT is provided to Orissa and the proposal of IIT, Kharagpur, is approved, then to some extent we would match with other States. There are seven IITs in the country. We have the concentration of private engineering colleges. Therefore, we should be provided one IIT and it was rightly decided by the Planning Commission. But I do not know why the Ministry of Human Resource Development is interfering and why they are shifting it from one State to another. This is a nasty politics. If the Government of India will not reverse its present decision of not establishing a green field IIT in Orissa during 11th Five Year Plan, it will be unfair. It will create alarming situation in the State. Now the State is burning. The students are agitating. I think some day they would come to Delhi to demonstrate. So, what is happening? The students, the intellectuals, the teachers and the public all are agitating. This Union Government is unfair to the State of Orissa. They are doing all the illegal works… (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Nothing should be recorded except the speech of Shri Tripathy.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, it is also learnt that five new IIMs would be established during the 11th Five Year Plan. There are already IIMs in different States but we do not have a single IIM in Orissa. There is not a single central institution in Orissa. There is no IIM. So, when they are deciding to set up five new IIMs during the 11th Five Year Plan, why Orissa should not be chosen for this? The maximum number of engineering institutions, technical institutes and IT educational institutes are there in Orissa, the eastern part of the country.
So, why would the Government not decide about allotting one IIM in the State of Orissa? I would like to request the Government to consider setting up one greenfield IIT, one IIM in Orissa and also consider giving an extension of the IIT campus at Kharagpur in Bhubaneswar in the State of Orissa. If these demands are not considered favourably by the Union Government, then the people of the State would be very unhappy and the situation would not be any good.
We are for the unity of the country. We are working for the unity of the country. The contribution of the people of Orissa has been the maximum towards maintaining unity of this nation. If the State of Orissa will decide otherwise, then half of the country would be languishing in darkness. The hon. Members of this august House should know this. We are providing coal and iron ore to all parts of this country, but unfortunately in our State, we do not have any industry. If the Union Government would continue to deprive this, then naturally the State would feel isolated from the mainstream. The Naxalites are very active in the State of Orissa and they would take advantage of the situation. The Union Government seems to be conducting themselves like a Panchayat and they are following a discriminatory policy. If such an attitude does not change, then the miscreants will provoke the people and the unity of the country could be threatened. We are always for the unity of the country. The contribution of the people of Orissa to freedom struggle has been immense. We were the last State to become a part of the colonial rule… (Interruptions) The hon. Member does not seem to be aware of history… (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Nothing, except the speech of Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy, would go on record.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, we were the last State to go under the control of the British rule. We fought against the British rule. There were many people from Orissa who were hanged by the British for participation in the freedom movement. There is not a proper reflection of those sacrifices in the history. We have not been able to pay them their due respect. Therefore, the contribution of the people of Orissa in the freedom struggle has been maximum.
Therefore, I would like to request the hon. Member to consider these demands and not wound the sentiments of the people of the State. There should not be any provocation which may lead to a serious crisis of law and order. The Government should understand the sentiments of the people of the State and consider favourably setting up of one IIT, one IIM and also giving extension of campus of IIT Kharagpur at Bhubneswar. This is the only request I would like to make to the hon. Minister. If these are not considered, then maybe, in the near future there could be agitations and the situation may go out of control.
SHRI B. MAHTAB (CUTTACK): A Calling Attention has been listed in today’s Order Paper. The hon. Minister of State for Human Resource Development, in response to this, has laid a written statement on the Table of the House. This was also listed in the first part of the Budget Session but due to the House getting adjourned for recess, this issue could not be discussed then.
It is an emotive issue for all the Oriya people, not only resident Oriyas but also Non-Resident Oriyas. This is our experience that everyday, through the net, we are receiving a large number of mails about this issue – be it Shri Jual Oram or other Members from the Rajya Sabha, we, the Members representing the State of Orissa, have been receiving a large number of mails through the net on this issue.
But why is Orissa being denied justice? Why is this United Progressive Alliance Government denying justice to Orissa? What reply do we have for this question? Should we say that because a large number of non-UPA members have been elected to this House that the UPA Government is denying justice to us? Should we say that because we do not have a Cabinet Minister in UPA, Orissa is being denied justice? Should we say that Orissa is not being recognized by the leaders of the UPA and hence it is denied justice? What should we say? What is the reply? … (Interruptions) The reply is because they stood with Indians, they stood for the cause of Orissa..… (Interruptions) What is the reason that the UPA which is in power for the last three years is denying justice to Orissa? … (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Nothing should be recorded except the speech of Shri Mahtab.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRI B. MAHTAB (CUTTACK): It is not only that it is denied justice only for the last three years. Since the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s and the first part of 1990s, Orissa had been persistently denied justice.
I would like to ask a simple question to the Minister and I would expect a reply to that question. How much investment has been made in Orissa for human resource development? How much investment has the Ministry of HRD made in Orissa during the last Ten Plans? How many Central Institutes, leave out IIT which is the issue to which we have called your attention, have been established in Orissa? Our leader, Shri Tripathy, has also mentioned about IIMs other than IITs. I would like the hon. Minister to go through the records on a commitment made in this House. In the late 1980s, our former President who was the then Minister during the tenure of Shri Rajiv Gandhi had made a commitment in this House to a Congress Member who was representing the constituency which I am representing today. At that time, she was the wife of the Chief Minister. To her, the then Minister, Shri Narayanan had made a commitment in this House that when triple IITs will be established, it will be established in Orissa. Now we are in 2007. More than four or five Governments have ruled but what has happened to the IITs? If we raise this issue, somebody will start saying that should we not take the responsibility. What happened to that triple IIT establishment? Have you fulfilled the commitment made in this House? Or do you say that other Ministries have not done it and that is why, you also have not done it? Can you shift your responsibility like this? How much money have you invested in the State of Orissa during the last 60 years? I am not asking this question to any political party or a political alliance. I am asking this question to this House, to this nation.
Why has Orissa been denied investment from the Central Budget, especially from the Ministry of Human Resource Development? How many institutes have you created? Only two Institutes of the Ministry of Agriculture have been established. One is Central Rice Research Institute, established in 1948 and the other one is Fisheries Central Institute, established in eighties. Other than these two Institutes, which are related to the Ministry of Agriculture, no other institute has been established. These Institutes have nothing to do with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Of course, Regional Engineering College was established after Rourkela Steel Plant came up, after Hirakud Dam came up.
A large number of students from Orissa go to cities in other States for technical education, like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi and very few of them go abroad. Is it not the responsibility of the Central Government to provide higher technical education to the people of Orissa at an affordable cost? Why should we have to come before you and plead? Knowing full well that Orissa is in the bottom of income index, is it not the responsibility of the Centre to do that?
You have enshrined “socialism” in the Constitution. Is it not the responsibility of the Centre to do that? A very fashionable word is being used in the last few months, that is “inclusive growth.” Is it not the responsibility of the Centre to see the overall growth of the country? If some people flare up in North-East, it immediately draws the attention of the Government; if something happens in Western front, that draws the attention of the Government. … (Interruptions)
The Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister was set up and was given a mandate. What was the mandate? Was the mandate to find out how many IITs should be established? Or was the mandate to find out whether there is requirement to expand the number of IITs? I would like the hon. Minister to educate me and the House. As per my information, the mandate to Scientific Advisory Council was, other than the IITs that were established in the sixties and another one later on, is there a necessity to have more IITs in this country? Why was it restricted to three? Who restricted it to three? I would like to have an answer. How was this confined to only three? Was it done by Planning Commission? I would like to know that. If the recommendation was, one in the East, one in the West, one in the South, who decided that one should go to Bihar, one should go to Andhra Pradesh; and the third one would go to Rajasthan. Who decided that it will not go to Karnataka, Kerala or Orissa? At what level was this decision taken? I would like to understand this. If a decision has been taken consciously, what is the logic behind it? Let the whole nation know. I would like to have answers to these few questions.… (Interruptions)
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Nothing should be recorded.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
MR. DEPUTY- SPEAKER: Members speaking without my permission will not go in the record.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRI B. MAHTAB (CUTTACK): I would like to request the hon. Minister that there is a necessity to provide more funds for establishment of Human Resource Development Central Institutes. Let us get an assurance from the hon. Minister. Whatever you say, we do not have any ill-will against the Cabinet Minister of Human Resource Development. We do not want to offend the hon. Minister who is going to reply today, but we have to plead our case. If you require all of us, all Members of Parliament from Orissa including the supporters who want Orissa to grow and prosper, all of us can go including the hon. Minister, Shri Jairam Ramesh. He can go and plead before the Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Arjun Singh. Now let us hear from the hon. Minister.
SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN (BALASORE): The UPA Government all the time talks of inclusive growth. What is the meaning of this inclusive growth? Does it mean that the growth of some with the exclusion of others? You take the example of quality of human resource available in Orissa – in the Civil Service, in the banking sector, in the IT, in medicine, in engineering what is the percentage of Oriyas? It is one of the highest in India.
The hon. Minister, Shri Jairam Ramesh is sitting here. He was with us in the Standing Committee on Finance. Wherever he was going with us, he was finding that Oriya officers were prospering everywhere like in the Income-tax, in Central Excise, in banking and whenever he stands to speak here, he says, as ever, the `Kalinga Brigade’ is available here to listen to his speech. He knows that we always sit and we listen to him.
Sir, the UPA Government and everybody knows that now there is going to be a shortage of skilled manpower in this country by 2011. We have to import skilled manpower if this trend of not making the people skilled, and if continues in India, then we will have to import people. That is why, 1,000 IITs are going to be developed as centres of excellence. The hon. Minister of Finance told about this at the time of the Budget Speech. So I am asking what is the criterion for setting up of IITs. How many IITs are there in the United States of America? How many IITs are required in a country of India’s magnitude? Is it only seven? If you include three, it is going to be ten.
Sir let me tell you, a country of India’s magnitude requires 15,000 IITs. It may sound very lofty, but it is true. So a country of one billion people requires this.
Now the UPA Government is already charging two per cent Education Cess for primary education. From this year, you have imposed another one per cent for the higher education. Every year you say that your revenue collection is increasing by 20 per cent and 30 per cent. So, there is no shortage of money. There is no resource crunch. If there is no resource crunch, why do you not come for another technical institute of the magnitude of the IIT in a State like Orissa? Why should the people from Orissa, why should MPs from Orissa simply beg like beggars? Why should we beg for it? I am not accusing you. I am not accusing any individual or this Government, but I will appeal this Government that you should see to it that Oriyas should not just come and beg to you like this.
Let us have another institute. You have it in Bihar, Rajashan and Andhra Pradesh. We have no objection to that. I told you that we require 1500 technical institutions. You can have it in Kerala and everywhere. We also want, perhaps, one in Orissa. As has already been told by Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy, the IIT Kharagpur is willing to open a campus of its own in Bhubaneswar in Western Orissa which is comparatively an under-developed area. There, the Birla Institute of Energy is having the infrastructure and everything. You can develop it and improve it to the status of an IIT. You can do that.
Lastly, hon. Minister, let me tell you that if your Government has not agreed earlier to set up an institute of IIT in Orissa, if you have not agreed, please agree to it now. If you do not agree to it today, we will keep on raising this matter in this House for all time to come till you agree.
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: I would like to request the hon. Members to seek clarifications because I have a very long list of speakers with me. So, I would only love clarifications on this Calling Attention. I would now request Shri Prasanna Acharya to seek only clarifications.
SHRI PRASANNA ACHARYA (SAMBALPUR): Sir, it is a very important subject concerning the State of Orissa. My colleagues have very forcefully raised it.
THE MINISTER OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI T.R. BAALU): Sir, I want to know whether the second Calling Attention will be taken up today or tomorrow. At 3 of the Clock, there is another most important discussion.
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: At this time, I cannot say anything. After we finish this, I will let you know.
I would request Shri Prasanna Acharya to seek only clarifications. No lengthy speech is allowed.
SHRI PRASANNA ACHARYA (SAMBALPUR): Sir, this is a very important subject concerning Orissa. I would earnestly thank the Chair for giving me permission to raise a few questions.
It is an admitted fact that whenever there is a Congress Government at the Centre or an alliance Government led by the Congress at the Centre, Orissa has been consistently neglected. Statistics alone speaks volumes about the continued injustice meted out to Orissa whenever there is a Congress-led Government be it Railways, be it the Plan Grants or allocation of Central University or IIT, Orissa. My pertinent question to the hon. Minister of State here, who is going to reply, is a few months back, the Minister of State Shri Fatmi, who is very much present here, announced in a public function that three IITs were going to be set up. One is in Bihar and another one is in Orissa. It was announced by the Minister. Whenever a Minister makes any public announcement, it is supposed that he is announcing it on behalf of the Government. Therefore, I do not just understand why on the plea of the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister that the decision was subsequently changed. It is a million-dollar question for us, for the people of Orissa. When already a decision was taken that one IIT out of the three would be set up in Orissa, when it was declared by the Minister himself, why in the subsequent period the decision was again changed on the plea of the recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Prime Minister?
1442 hours (Mr. Speaker in the Chair)
I would like to draw your attention to another important issue. The Joshi Committee and subsequently the Anandakrishnan Committee evaluated a few of the old, quality engineering colleges to upgrade to the status of an IIEST. Then also, Orissa’s case was not properly considered. It was ignored at that time also. You know, Sir, that no State can achieve robust growth in economy without the sound base in science and technology which are directly linked to its economic development. While States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have leveraged the technology base, Orissa has suffered due to lack of such an institution. It is an admitted fact.
My colleague Shri Mehtab was very correctly saying that among the States in the South, West, North and East, Orissa is the only one State that does not have a single institution at the level of INIs. There are already 13 INIs in India. Orissa is zero. There is a total of 7 IITs in the country. Orissa is zero. There is a total of six IIMs in India. Orissa is zero.
There are 18 Central Universities in the country. We have been demanding for a Central University to be set up in Orissa, but it has not been conceded to so far. Orissa has no national level R & D establishment, except the Regional Research Laboratory
Sir, another very important point has been raised very correctly by my colleague. You will be surprised to know that the HRD Ministry is spending only Rs. 4.70 per person on higher education in Orissa. If you see the figures of other States, in Delhi it is Rs. 183.08, in Uttaranchal it is Rs. 115.14, in West Bengal it is Rs. 41.20 and in Karnataka it is Rs. 33.04. These figures will show you how the HRD Ministry has been consistently neglecting Orissa as far as higher education is concerned.
I would like to know whether the Government is aware that a new era of industrialization has begun in Orissa. Orissa is now poised to add in excess of 70 million tonnes per annum in steel, 4 million tonnes per annum in aluminium refining, 1 million tonne per annum in aluminium, 15 million tonnes per annum in petrochemical refining, 13,000 MW of power and 5 million tonnes per annum in cement. POSCO, Tata, Mittal, L & T, Aditya Birla, Infosys and so many other companies are coming to Orissa. When a new era in industrialization has begun in Orissa, is it not necessary that more and more qualified engineers and technologists are produced in Orissa? Our Chief Minister has twice written to the Prime Minister and he met the Prime Minister also and requested for setting up an IIT in Orissa. Shri Swain was mentioning about Birla University Centre. I demand that the Birla University Centre should be upgraded and should be given the status of an Indian Institute of Technology.
SHRI BIKRAM KESHARI DEO (KALAHANDI): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have also given my name. I want to seek a clarification. … (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: What is this? You are evolving a new procedure. Even though it is unprecedented, you can associate your names and you send the slips to the Table.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: You are a senior Member. You know the rules. Please take your seat.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: I am not obliged to call anybody now. We go up to 5 Members and sometimes up to 6. Now, another 20 hon. Members are standing up and asking for chance to speak. How is it possible to allow all of you? I am sorry.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Let us follow some rule.
… (Interruptions)
PROF. RASA SINGH RAWAT (AJMER): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have also given notice.
MR. SPEAKER: Notice means nothing Mr. Rawat.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, please take your seats. This is a specific subject. Hon. Members from the concerned State have spoken. So, there is no reason to allow any other hon. Member now.
SHRI N.N. KRISHNADAS (PALGHAT): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to seek a clarification.
MR. SPEAKER: No, I am sorry. This is not the procedure. The hon. Minister’s statement only will be recorded.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI): Sir, this is the 150th year of the Soldiers’ Mutiny… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Mr. Thomas, I will not allow this kind of violation of rules. I have told you.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Mr. Deo, I will not allow this. You are defying the Chair deliberately.
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: Sir, this is the 150th year of the Soldiers’ Mutiny, which is considered the corner stone, the basis for our Independence Movement and every Indian, every State had rightly its role to play in the Independence Movement. Not only Orissa, but the entire country was unified and did fight for its Independence. I would like to make that very clear here.
The Indian Institutes of Technology have been conceived as institutes of national importance and these institutes are leaders in technology innovation and also to educate and train graduates and post-graduate level technologists and engineers at all levels to the very best in any part of the country. Therefore, it can be justified that every State would want to have an IIT, which is considered a global brand in technical education, in their State.
But, before I proceed further and answer the various queries posed by my hon. Colleagues, I would just like to briefly outline the way in States in which these three IITs needs to be established was decided upon. Prof. C.N.R. Rao, Chairman of Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, had recommended the setting up of three IITs and his letter to the hon. HRD Minister has clearly indicated that one IIT needs to be established in South, one in East, possibly in… (Interruptions) Bihar and one in West, probably in Rajasthan… (Interruptions) It was very clearly mentioned… (Interruptions) I apologise for my slip of the tongue… (Interruptions)
SHRI BIKRAM KESHARI DEO (KALAHANDI): Sir, I am on a point of order.
MR. SPEAKER: There cannot be a point of order on the slip of tongue.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: I am sure the hon. Minister will be very happy, as all of us, to provide an IIT to Orissa, but she is saying why it has not been possible and why some decision has been taken. Nobody is unsympathetic. We all want an IIT in every State. Why not? But there are certain ways of doing things.
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: It was on his recommendation that three States were identified as possible locations for the new IITs that were to be set up.
With regard to IISCR, that Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy was mentioning, the idea was mooted by the then Chairman of UGC and UGC was not considered a competing body to actually open institutes. It was only a body which would extend grants to the universities and colleges. Therefore, in the Law Ministry, it was not considered legal by the UGC to announce the opening up of an IISCR. That was the reason why the idea of opening up of IISCR to be established in Orissa was dropped.
As far as the remark which Shri Fatmi had made is concerned, he is very much present here and he clearly declines having made such a remark… (Interruptions)
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): The hon. Minister should not say that. Otherwise, I will bring a privilege motion… (Interruptions)
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: He is present here and has denied that… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: What is being done here? Neither your statement is recorded nor her statement can be heard.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI BIKRAM KESHARI DEO (KALAHANDI): Sir, she is misleading the House… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Mr. Deo, you are a very alert Member. If she is misleading the House, you have ample remedy.
SHRI BIKRAM KESHARI DEO (KALAHANDI): Sir, she is beating around the bush… (Interruptions) I am on a point of order.
MR. SPEAKER: She is beating around the bush.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: There is no point of order for that. I have never heard of having a point of order on beating around the bush.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: All right then, I will stop this discussion here.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Do not record any observation. Any hon. Member speaking without the permission of the Chair is not to be recorded. You know that rule.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
(o1/1455/rcp/rpm)
MR. SPEAKER: Nobody can compel any particular Minister to reply.
The hon. Minister may continue.
… (Interruptions)
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: As far as the proposal to set up an IIT in Kharagpur is concerned, to have large extension, the greenfields campuses of IITs in other States opened by IITs somewhere else would actually call for 500 to 600 acres of land from the State Governments. As he said, the State Government was ready… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: What is this?
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: At the same time, the cost of land development itself would be around Rs. 120 crore to Rs. 150 crore besides the cost of setting up the entire infrastructure would be somewhere to the tune of Rs. 1000 crore … (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: What is this? Nothing is being recorded.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: Besides this, the burden of the non-recurring would again fall on the Government of India. It is not to shirk away from the responsibility; it is to consolidate. We, already, have shortcomings in the other IITs as such. We have faculty problems; we have infrastructural problems. Unless we consolidate all these, we would not be in a position to open Greenfield campuses elsewhere in other States. That was the reason. However, Bhubaneswar does have an extension centre opened by IIT Kharagpur which actually extends post doctoral, continuing education programmes there. It has been there for quite some time.
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): You accept the proposal of Kharagpur also.
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: We have not accepted the proposal of Kharagpur.
Planning Commission has only given an in-principle approval for setting up of these three new IITs.… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: I would be very happy to have an IIT in Puri.
… (Interruptions)
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: But where the IITs need to be set up has not been mentioned by the Planning Commission. This was clearly mentioned in the C.N.R. Rao Report itself.
Mahtabji has questioned the mandate of the Scientific Advisory Committee. The Scientific Advisory Council to the PM has a mandate to recommend the development of science and technology in the country. IISERs have been set up based on these recommendations. Besides this, IITs also are being also set up based on these recommendations again. As I said, it was not very easy; the cost of setting up of an IIT is to the tune of Rs. 1000 crore besides the land and the land development cost.
Coming to allegation that Orissa has been sidelined or has been marginalized, I would like to briefly read out the names of the Centrally-funded Institutes which are already existing. There is Regional Research Laboratory at Bhubaneswar, Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute at Puri, Extension Centre Kharagpur, Indian Institute of Mass Communication at Dhenkanal, Regional Medical Research Institute.… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Do not record anything.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
SHRIMATI D. PURANDESWARI: There is Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture at Kausalyaganga, National Institute of Rehabilitation, Training and Research at Cuttack, Water Technology Centre for Eastern Region at Bhubaneswar… (Interruptions) National Research Centre for Women in Agriculture at Bhubaneswar,
MR. SPEAKER: She is doing a brilliant job. Kindly support it.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Do not be angry, young man.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Now, we take up item no. 9. Shri Jairam Ramesh.
… (Interruptions)
1500 hours
(At this stage, Shri Brahmananda Panda and some other hon. Members came
and stood near the Table.)
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: You are all senior Members and responsible Members. This is not the way. Please go back to your seats.
Let us not bring down this institution. Everyday it is happening. I appeal to all of you to go back to your seats.
… (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Please do not record anything.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
1501 hours
(At this stage, Shri Brahmananda Panda and some other hon. Members
went back to their seats.)
SHRI BRAJA KISHORE TRIPATHY (PURI): Sir, we are not satisfied with the reply of the hon. Minister. … (Interruptions)
MR. SPEAKER: Nothing will go on record.
(Interruptions) … (Not recorded)
MR. SPEAKER: Enough is enough. Now, item no. 9. Shri Jairam Ramesh.
PAPERS LAID ON THE TABLE—Contd.
1502 hours
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