Odisha govt makes amends: Brahmapur gets IISER

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Aug 1, 2015 at 4:07 PM Updated On : Aug 1, 2015 at 6:07 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 1:

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) will be set up in the premier southern Odisha city of Brahmapur, announced Sanjay Das Burma, Minister for Employment & Technical Education & Training (ET & T) here today.

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The state government will provide 200 acres of land for IISER and admissions to the institute will begin from 2016-17 academic year, said Das Burma.

Notably, Union Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the institute for Odisha during his budget speech this year.

“Today is a historic day for the people of Odisha since Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today decided to set up Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) at the life line of southern Odisha, Brahmapur in Ganjam district,“ said Das Burma briefing reporters here.

“The state government will provide 200 acres of government land free of cost for the setting up of the institute. The decision in this regard was taken by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Brahmapur has necessary infrastructure like road, rail and air connectivity, which is in conformity with the Central guidelines. This apart, the state government is committed to provide temporary campus facility for this institute of national importance in and around Brahmapur,” said the ET & T Minister elaborating on the state government’s commitments and Brahmapur’s suitability for the establishment of the institute.

Das Burma said, “I want to make it clear that the admissions to the IISER will begin in 2016-17 academic year. “

Both the BJD and Congress have welcomed the announcement.

“I thank the Chief Minister and Minister Sanjay Das Burma for announcing Brahmapur as the site for setting up of the IISER. There was a long-standing demand of the people here for an educational institute of national repute. Finally, it has been fulfilled. This will add to the pride of Ganjam district. We are very happy over the announcement,” said Dr Ramesh Chandra Choupatnaik, BJD MLA from Brahmapur in his comments on the announcement.

“Surely, I am very happy over the announcement since Brahmapur or Ganjam had no educational institution of national repute. I rise above politics to thank the minister for his announcement. Though late, Ganjam, which missed out on IIM and NISER earlier, has finally got its share. We are very happy. I thank the minister again,” said former Union Minister Chandrasekhar Sahoo.

IISERs are a group of most premier science education and research institutes in India. These institutions have been declared by an Act of Parliament as institutions of national importance and are intended to be the IITs of basic sciences. The institutes were created by the Government of India, through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), under The National Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (an amendment of the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007), which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 30 April 2012.

Five IISERs have been established across the country, namely IISER Kolkata in West Bengal, IISER Pune in Maharashtra, IISER Mohali in Punjab, IISER Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and IISER Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. A new IISER is about to start functioning from August 2015 at Tirupati.

Two new IISERs in Odisha and Nagaland were announced in the 2015 Budget.