Tharoor rules out possibility of IIM in state this year

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Oct 4, 2013 at 1:39 PM Updated On : Oct 4, 2013 at 2:51 PM

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Oct 4:

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Union Minister of State for HRD, Shashi Tharoor on Thursday ruled out any possibility of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Odisha during the current fiscal.

Briefing newsmen after meeting chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat here, Tharoor said the issue of setting up of an IIM did not come up for discussion.
“Under the present environment and within the current life span of Lok Sabha, it is unrealistic to expect any more IIMs”, he added.

The Union minister clarified that the Centre is concentrating consolidation of the existing IITs and IIMs and the emphasis is on creation of good faculty and students by strengthening the infrastructure.

According to official sources, the chief minister during the meeting, urged Tharoor for increasing scholarships for technical education in government institutes and raised the issue of giving an early approval to the proposal for setting up community colleges in the state.

Prior to the meeting, Tharoor had a detailed discussion with secretary, School and Mass Education Usha Padhee on the procedure relating to the implementation of the mid-day meal programme.