Four educational institutions from Odisha found a place in Top 100 educational institutes in India. SOA University, Bhubaneswar was ranked 38 while NIT, Rourkela; IIT, Bhubaneswar and KIIT, Bhubaneswar were ranked 42, 51 and 65 respectively. Unfortunately, OUAT and Utkal University, at 137 and 147, failed to make it to the Top 100.
Among all the universities, SOA was placed at 24 while KIIT and OUAT were ranked 42 and 91 respectively.
Among the management institutes, KIIT was ranked 30 and XIMB was placed at 36. Similarly, SOA University and KIMS were placed at 19 and 20 respectively among the medical colleges. NIT, Rourkela and IIT, Bhubaneswar found place in Top 20 engineering colleges in the Country.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has been adjudged the Best University in India while Delhi's Miranda House was awarded as the Best College.
According to the ranking by the NIRF, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) were ranked second and third respectively.
All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi was ranked number one institute under medical college category while NLSIU-Bengaluru was awarded as the best law school in the country.
This year medical and dental colleges were ranked for the first time by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Apart from the medical, NIRF also added Architecture and Law this year.
Top 10 Engineering Institutes
Top 10 Universities
Last date to receive online Application is November 30, 2017. The institute reserves the right to extend the last date therefore, candidates are advised to keep visiting the official website regularly, the notification stated.
The last date for submission of hard copy is December 5, 2017. Hard copies of the applications received after this date shall not be considered and the institute shall not be responsible under any circumstances for any sort of postal delay, a notification issued by the NIT, Raipur mentioned.
Also Read: IIT Hyderabad recruitment: Apply for 114 non-faculty posts
Application Fee: Each application must be submitted along with an application fee of Rs 500 for Unreserved and OBC applicants and Rs 250 for SC/ ST and PWD categories. However, no application fee is required for employees/ teachers of NIT Raipur. Candidates applying from abroad will have to pay an application fee of US $50 or equivalent Indian rupees.
List of departments having vacant seats:
Architecture – 9
Biomedical Engineering -1
Computer Science & Engineering – 3
Electrical Engineering – 2
Electronics & Telecommunications – 1
Humanities & Social Sciences -1
Information Technology – 1
Mathematics – 2
Mechanical Engineering – 2
Metallurgical Engineering – 3
Mining Engineering – 4
Educational requirements:
For engineering disciplines: B.E./B. Tech. or equivalent and M.E./M. Tech. or equivalent with Ph. D. in relevant/ equivalent discipline with first class in the preceding degrees. BE/B Tech with direct Ph.D with first class in preceding degrees may also be considered.
For architecture department:
Assistant Professor level:
For non-engineering discipline: Ph. D. degree in the relevant or equivalent discipline with first class in preceding degrees.
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For further details on how to apply and other information, candidates should the official website https:\\recruitment.nitrr.ac.in
Sources said the team led by Mahavir Panda, the Head Of the Department (HOD) of Civil Engineering of the institute will examine the load capacity of the under-construction bridge and check the quality of slabs.
However, the team has ruled out any chances of examining iron rods used in pier of the under-construction flyover, the sources added.
Meanwhile, mild tension erupted at the bridge work site today when local traders demanded a probe into the size of iron rods used in piers. But they were opposed by councillors of the Jatni municipality so that the NIT team could conduct the probe.
The local administration deployed police to dissuade the tension and help the NIT team examine the bridge.
https://youtu.be/9DeSRS76DTA
Students willing to take admission into PG engineering courses such as MTech and ME at all the IITs, NITs, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), other GFTIs as well as private institutions have to apply online through GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) by logging into the official website https://appsgate.iitg.ac.in/.
The examination will be conducted as Online Computer Based Test (CBT).
Regulated jointly by seven IITs and IISc, the exam will be conducted by IIT Guwahati spread over a window of four days on February 3 and 4, and February 10 and 11. The results of the examination will be declared on March 17, 2018.
Candidates can choose any one of the 23 subjects available for the examination. Examination for some papers may be held in multiple sessions but candidates can can appear for the examination in one session only.
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The examination paper will contain some questions for which numerical answers must be keyed in by the candidate using the virtual keypad provided on the computer interface. Rest of the questions will be of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) type.
GATE 2018, here’s how to apply:
Step 1: Visit the official website
Step 2: Register as a new user using valid email ID and mobile number
Step 3: After registeration, candidates will get their enrolment ID and password.
Step 4: Fill the GATE 2018 application form
Step 5: Upload photograph, signature and fill up all other details
Step 5: Pay the fees online through net banking or debit card
Step 6: Download and take a print out of the registration
More News: UGC asks varsities to provide details of payments made via digital mode
Taking cognizance of the declining trend of female students taking admission in NITs, the HRD ministry is considering adding extra seats from next year along the lines of IITs, HT reported citing sources.
NITs have witnessed a 9 per cent dip in the female candidates’ admission to the premiere institutions. Only 13 per cent female candidates reportedly took admission in NITs this year as against 22 per cent last year.
Also Read: NIT Rourkela students make it to Nat’l final of NTPC Electron Quiz 2017
Meanwhile, officials blame the Centre for the sharp decline stating that the government’s decision to withdrew the allotment of 40 per cent weightage to Class 12 marks for determining rankings in the JEE has led to the downfall.
This decision of the government hit the female students hard who usually perform better than their male counterparts in Class 12 exams, said sources.
Worth mentioning that the results of the JEE Advanced 2017 were declared on June 12. Of the total 2,20,000 students who had appeared for the test held on May 21, as many as 2700 aspirants were from Odisha. Around 300 Odia students had made it to the merit list.
Also Read: Supreme Court gives green signal for IIT, NIT admissions
Earlier on Monday, availability status and seat allocation for the third round counselling was released by JoSAA, a body set up by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) to manage and regulate the joint seat allocation for admission to the above institutes. An updated schedule for the allotment process is available on www.josaa.nic.in.
Students whose names have appeared in the third seat allotment list can accept and withdraw from seats at a reporting centre for the third round from 10 am to 4 pm till July 12 and from 10 am to 1 pm on July 13.
This change was introduced after the Supreme Court on Monday gave a green signal to continue admission to premier institutes like IITs and NITs by lifting a stay order it had issued on July 7 based on a petition contesting grace marks awarded to candidates.
In a hearing on the petition filed by three students who have successfully cleared the JEE Advanced, the SC has given a go ahead for the admissions to the institutes.
The petitioners had alleged that they were not getting admissions in colleges of their choice as grace marks were awarded to all candidates irrespective of whether they attempted the questions or not. The bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar had thus ordered a stay on the counselling and also restrained High Courts from accepting any writ petition in the matter.
“As directed by the Supreme Court of India, the third round of counselling will start from July 11,” said a statement made by JoSAA on its official website. Close to 3,200 seats were lying vacant across IITs, NITs, IIITs and other GFTIs after second round of allotment. Only 68 out of these were available in 23 IITs, including the Indian School of Mines-Dhanbad (ISM-Dhanbad).
“IITs will have to give an undertaking and develop a mechanism that such mistakes will not recur and ensure that no such situation arises in which bonus marks will have to be awarded to all the students,” the bench said, adjourning the case for a hearing in October.
The results of the JEE Advanced 2017 were declared on June 12. Of the total 2,20,000 students who had appeared for the test held on May 21, as many as 2700 aspirants were from Odisha. Around 300 Odia students had made it to the merit list.
The apex court gave the order based on a petition filed by two students seeking revision of the list of students who cracked IIT after getting bonus marks in the JEE conducted by IIT Madras. Further hearing on the issue will be held on July 10.
The court put on hold the admissions saying, “If granting bonus marks is a problem , it has to be solved by us at the earliest.”
The two petitioners who had also successfully cracked the exams claimed that awarding bonus marks to all has affected their merit list rank and they may thus not get admission into colleges of their preference.
The two students also said that only those who attempted the questions should have received bonus marks whereas all students have been given the extra marks.
The SC bench also directed the high courts not to accept writ petitions over counselling and admissions to the IITs from today.
The results of the JEE Advanced 2017 were declared on June 12. Of the total 2,20,000 students who had appeared for the test held on May 21, as many as 2700 aspirants were from Odisha. Around 300 Odia students had made it to the merit list.
According to the ministry’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings for higher educational institutions in India, in overall ranking; Sikha ‘O’ Anusandhan University in the State capital has secured 33rd rank while National Institute of Technology, Rourkela has got 46th rank. Similarly, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) have been placed at 66th and 79th ranks respectively.
Among the top 100 engineering colleges across the country, NIT Rourkela has secured 12th position, followed by IIT, Bhubaneswar (18th), KIIT (47th) and CV Raman College of Engineering (92nd).
Similarly among the best management institutes in the country, KIIT has topped from Odisha with 22nd rank while Xavier University has been placed at 33rd position. No other varsities from the State have been able to make it to the list. In the category of best 100 universities, SOA and KIIT from Odisha have secured 20th and 49th position respectively.
The report said Delhi’s Miranda House and Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science are India’s best college and university, respectively.
Loyola College in Chennai and Shri Ram College of Commerce were the second and third-best colleges in India, said the survey of “general degree” colleges by the Human Resource Development ministry. This is the first time colleges have been ranked.
Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University – which was at the centre of a storm on nationalism last year – was ranked second among universities while Banaras Hindu University secured third position. Seven IITs were among the top 10 in the overall ranking category.
Indian Institute of Technology-Madras was the top engineering school while Jamia Hamdard was judged the best pharmacy institute. Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad was adjudged the finest management institute.
Kolkata’s Jadavpur University – whose students have also faced criticism for being “anti-national” – was ranked fifth among universities.
Sources said, in Odisha nearly 45,000 students are likely to take the test at 82 centres in six cities including Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. On all India basis more than 12 lakh students have applied for the JEE (Main) this year.
The examination will be held in two sittings beginning from 9 am. Students have been advised to report at the test centres two hours before the test.
Besides, examinees have also been strictly barred from using any kind of pen, pencil, watches or any other kind of electronic gadgets.
Also Read: OJEE extends application deadline till March 25
Speaking to media persons, OJEE chairman Tushar Kant Nath said entrance mark is the final parameter for ranking in the mains exam since there shall be no weightage for the 12th class marks in calculating the ranks in the JEE (Main) examination pattern this year. Based upon the marks of JEE (Mains), top 2 to 2.5 lakh students will get chance to appear the JEE (Advanced), he said.
From last year onwards, some state boards like Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Nagaland who used to conduct their own engineering examinations have also joined the all India JEE to facilitate students appear a single all India test for admission into both national and state level institutions as well.
To qualify for the admission students have to secure at least 75% marks in the 12th class examination, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th class examination conducted by the respective Boards besides their JEE (Main) /(Advanced) score.
Rourkela: Skills acquired in the field of science and technology should be on top of the priority list for the country’s economic upliftment, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar today here.
Kiran Kumar, who was the chief guest at the 14th convocation ceremony of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, stated, “Life in the actual world can be bettered with the use of technology and skills someone has acquired from educational institutes," adding that learning is a life-long exercise.
The ISRO chairman added, “Issues should be addressed objectively through rigorous scientific approach.”
Also read: Odisha adopts IIT, NIT format for engineering counseling
“Human beings, who are causing harms to environment for short-term gains, should think of development and environment side by side,” the ISRO chairman emphasised.
Ten students drawn from different departments at NIT-Rourkela were given gold medals at the convocation function for excellent academic performance. Besides, 103 students were awarded PhD during the function.
As per the new guidelines, the final list of admission will be published after the conclusion of the third phase of counselling. Students can switch streams and colleges in the meantime. Students will get one chance if there are vacant seats after the first two phases of counselling.
Also Read: Changes to engineering admission process on anvil
Initially, students will have to deposit Rs 25,000 as part admission fee with the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) authorities instead of the concerned colleges.
“We will adopt a system similar to the sliding system followed in counselling for IITs and NITs. This will be implemented from 2017 admissions. This will reduce the number of vacancies in colleges as observed earlier,” said Padhi.
“Keeping in mind how we can provide students the colleges and streams of their choice, these reforms are being initiated,” said Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Skill Development and Technical Education, Sanjay Kumar Singh.
“CBSE has made Aadhaar card mandatory for students at the time of their registration for the JEE Main examinations. The facilitate the students having no Aadhaar card, the state government has made special arrangements in all block NAC and Municipality offices for their Aadhaar registration. Apart from this, the Centre has set up 240 centres in Odisha for Aadhaar registration,” Technical Education minister Sanjay Dasburma told media persons here today.
CBSE in a notification has said that students who are yet to get the Aadhaar card but have the Aadhaar enrollment number, will be allowed for registration for the JEE Main examination.
As per a CBSE notification, all the Indian citizen candidates should possess Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). At the time of filling application form of JEE (Main)-2017, the candidates will have to enter their Aadhaar number, name, date of birth and gender which will be validated with the UIDAI’s data. In case, these particulars do not match, the candidates will not be able to fill the application form. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their Aadhaar card has correct details of their name, date of birth and gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in Aadhaar data or school records, as the case may be.
Also read: Odisha to participate in JEE Main-2017
A student has to secure at least 75 percent marks to get admission in NIT and IIT by appearing in the single entrance test. But securing less than 75 percent marks, he/she can take admission in government and private engineering colleges in Odisha for which the qualifying mark for a student of general category and SC&ST category has to be 45% and 40% respectively.
The online application process for JEE Main examinations will start from December 1 onwards. The last date for application is January 2 while fee can be paid up to January 3.
However, submission of Aadhaar card details at the time of applying for the JEE Main has been made mandatory this time by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
As per a CBSE notification, all the Indian citizen candidates should possess Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). At the time of filling application form of JEE (Main)-2017, the candidates will have to enter their Aadhaar number, name, date of birth and gender which will be validated with the UIDAI’s data. In case, these particulars do not match, the candidates will not be able to fill the application form. Therefore, the candidates are advised to ensure that their Aadhaar card has correct details of their name, date of birth and gender as per school records. If there is some mismatch in these details, the candidates should immediately get it corrected in Aadhaar data or school records, as the case may be.
The online application process will start from December 1 onwards. The last date for application is January 2 while fee can be paid up to January 3, the notification said.
Talking to media persons today, Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) chairman Tushar Kant Nath said as per a notification by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), there shall be no weightage for the 12th class marks in calculating the ranks in the JEE (Main) examination pattern for 2017.
For the candidates to qualify for the admission in the IITs/NITs/IIITs and such other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) whose admissions are based on the JEE (Advanced)/JEE (Main) ranks, they should have secured at least 75% marks in the 12th class examination, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th class examination conducted by the respective Boards. For SC/ST students the qualifying marks would be 65% in the 12th class examination.
“A student can get admission in NIT and IIT by appearing in the single entrance test. If the performance is not of that level, he/she can take admission in government and private engineering colleges in Odisha for which the qualifying mark for a student of general category and SC&ST category has to be 45% and 40% respectively,” Nath said, adding that OJEE would conduct the counselling of the students for taking admission in government and private engineering colleges of Odisha as per their JEE Main ranking.
He said the Odisha government has decided in principle that the students cannot appear in multiple entrance tests. “A notification to this effect will be issued by the Skill Development and Technical Education department very soon,” he added.
Bhubaneswar: At 16, he aspired to be an ethical hacker. Co-owner of a four-month old cash-back website at 20, he is now aiming to do business worth an incredible Rs 50 crores by the year end!
Meet Sarada Prasad Sahu (20) who, along with his NIT, Rourkela B. Tech (Computer Science) batch mate Abhijit Sahu, has developed PennyIndia.com, a portal that pays cash back benefits to consumers who make online purchases from e-commerce websites through this website that already has 3000-odd registered customers.
“After studying online consumer behaviour for a while, we realised that even a penny matters for a customer and he/she can switch over to any website to get the maximum possible benefit with the click of a mouse. We named our website PennyIndia.com to emphasise the point that it provides the customer an opportunity to save every possible penny through the best deals throughout the year,” Sarada said.
Explaining the uniqueness of their site, which is currently doing business worth Rs 15-20 lakh a month, mostly in the form of mobile recharges, the Cuttack-born lad claimed that it offers auto-redemption option for customers to get instant cash-back.
“At this stage, we have at least 10 leading counterparts. But the uniqueness of our website is we give up to 95% cash back, the highest in the industry, to our registered consumers while others offer only 25-30%,” Abhijit stated. After 30-60 days of the completion of the product sale, the customers automatically get their cash back according to their payment preferences - either in the form of transfer to their bank accounts or coupons.
He said the company keeps 5% of the total commission it receives from its partner websites for maintenance and forwards the rest to the customers. A major share of this 5% commission goes to unprivileged children and orphanages, he noted.
Till date, around 200 e-commerce websites, including market leaders like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, Dominos and LimeRoad, have tied up with the venture and the number is growing with each passing day.
While facing stiff completion from rival websites and other similar ones, the Sahu-duo is hopeful that their start-up will hit Rs 50 crore business benchmark set by them by this December. They believe new add-ons on the site will bring in additional money to help them meet their target.
“Yes, we want to stay ahead of all others in the cash back offer market, which is fast catching on among online consumers. Very soon, hopefully within a month, we are adding components like price comparison, coupon sale and affiliate networking on our website. Price comparison will give the consumers a ‘deal of the day’ option on other websites before they proceed to purchase so that they do not move away from our site. The idea is to retain the customers on our website for the maximum time,” Sarada maintained.
Currently running in self-funding mode with a one-time paid up capital of Rs3-4 lakh, the site needs more investment on design, content and maintenance, he conceded.
“At this point, we want to take a calculated risk. If we achieve our target by December, then we will think of more investments. Till now, we have not approached any venture capitalists or angel investors,” Sarada averred.
After Oyo Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal (21), who hails from Bissam Cuttack in Rayagada district, the aggressive teens claim to be the second youngest entrepreneurs in Odisha.
A recent media report said India is the world's youngest start-up nation with 72 per cent founders below 35 years of age. Close to 4,400 technology start-ups exist in India and the number is expected to reach over 12,000 by 2020, the report added.
Official sources said the MHRD took the action as she refused to tender her resignation even as former NIT-R director Prof SK Sarangi had put in his papers as per the direction of the MHRD in the last week of April.
Miffed with the tussle between Sarangi and Ramaswamy over administrative control of the premier institute, the MHRD was left with no option but to seek simultaneous resignations of the two in April 2016 and forward them to the President for approval.
At the one-to-one meeting with the Director and Chairperson at New Delhi, HRD Secretary VS Oberoi had instructed them to resign in the larger interests of the institute as the continuing administrative tussle between them was beyond reconciliation.
The spat over controlling administrative issues was reportedly continuing from January 2015. The Chairperson was accused of trying to impose her own set of rules interpreting that the BoG is above the Director.
Sarangi, on his part, had justified his action that he is abiding by the NIT Act in discharging his duties. Being the Chief Executive Officer of the institute, he is responsible for all administrative duties, he maintained.
Champatiray was arrested while he was on his way to a relative's house.
Though the cops had raided Champatiray’s residence and other places several times after an FIR was lodged against him at the Sector 3 police station, he could not be traced.
The arrested Chief Security Officer was produced in a local court which sent him to the judicial custody for 14 days.
Notably, some lady security guards of NIT had lodged police complaints against Champatiray three weeks back and demanded his immediate arrest.
The incident had come to the fore after a video clipping showing a lady security guard sitting on his lap inside his office room in NIT became public. This had triggered tension in the institue as irate students had resorted to an indefinite dharna demanding his immediate dismissal and arrest.
Following the incident, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had sent Under Secretary Rajesh Solanki to probe the matter.
After arriving at the institute, Solanki had talked to the students, faculty members, the Fact Finding team and the director of the institute Dr Sunil Kumar Sarangi.
To evade arrest, Champatiray had moved the Orissa High Court on June 7 seeking anticipatory bail. However, the court rejected his bail plea.
Champatiray had remained untraceable after the NIT fact-finding team constituted by the director of the institute, in course of its investigation, found that the allegations made by the lady security guards were true.
Champatiray has remained absconded after the NIT fact-finding team constituted by the director of the institute, in course of its investigation, found that the allegations made by the lady security guards were true.
Meanwhile, the fact-finding team today submitted its report to the Standing Committee. In the 15-page report has the statement of 26 witnesses.
NIT Director Dr Sunil Sarangi has sent the report to the Internal Complaint Committee against Sexual Harassment for action against the absconding CSO, sources said.
Under Secretary of the ministry Rajesh Singh Solanki reached the institute campus and talked to the students, faculty members, the Fact Finding team and the director of the institute.
Sunil Kumar Sarangi, Director, NIT, told media persons, “Even in an institute of international reputation, it is human beings who are involved in the process. There is no filter available to find out which person is of what kind of character before appointment.”
Police are yet to nab the accused Security Officer Balaram Champatiray, who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women working under him. Students of the NIT, who had been observing a protest demanding the dismissal of Champatiray, had withdrawn their stir yesterday.
Minati Debata, social activist, who appeared before the ministry official, said “We did not get any assurance from the Under Secretary. The director was answering all queries asked by us.”
“The Under Secretary said he will submit a report to the ministry and we need not to worry,” she added.
Meanwhile, members of the Adivasi Bikash Manch staged a protest in front of Rourkela SP and NIT, and submitted a memorandum to the Under Secretary.
Making an announcement after a three-hour long open house discussion, NIT director Sunil Kumar Sarangi said the senate will probe into the entire event.
“Apart from this, to take stock of the situation in the institute and for further investigation, Under Secretary of Union HRD department Rajesh Solanki will arrive at the institute tomorrow,” he told media persons here.
Sarandi also said the NIT authorities have taken all possible steps to restore normalcy in the institute.
Meanwhile, a team of officers of Sector-III police station raided the office of the NIT Security Service this afternoon and seized 30 bottles of foreign liquor.
However, police is yet to nab the absconding chief security officer till date.
According to sources, police raided Chamapiray's house today but found it locked.
The police started the investigation on the basis of three FIRs lodged at the Sector-3 police station by two women security guards and the institute director last night.
One of the complainants told media persons, “The Security officer has been torturing and harassing us sexually for over years now. We want he should be punished and thrown out of NIT.”
On the details of the FIRs, PK Mishra, DSP, Rourkela, said, “Two women security guards have lodged complaints alleging sexual harassment and abuse. Besides, the Fact Finding team formed by the NIT director has lodged an FIR against Champatiray. We will club all the complaints together and probe into the matter. We have raided a few places but have not been able to trace him. But we will get him soon.”
Moreover, police have also recorded the statements of five other women, who have also been sexually exploited by the absconding security officer under section 161. Police sources informed that the statements have been recorded on the basis of the complaint lodged by the two women security guards.
Notably, on May 25, students of the NIT had caught Champatiray groping a woman security officer inside his office.
The students, who photographed Champatiray in the act, have launched a protest demanding his removal for sexual harassment of the subordinates by the Security Officer.
They have alleged that Champatiray had been harassing more than a dozen women working under him.
The students are demanding the arrest of Champatiray and an inquiry into the whole incident. Moreover, they have also sought the intervention of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
"We want the intervention of the MHRD and till that time we do not want to talk to the authorities here," said a protesting student.
"Now they are making an issue about our stance rather than focusing on the accused. We want to know why and under whose direction the issue was being suppressed since so many years," said another agitating student.
Sources said the cops found Champatiray absconding and his house locked.
The police started the investigation on the basis of three FIRs lodged at the Sector-3 police station by two women security guards and the institute director.
One of the complainants told media persons, “The Security officer was torturing and harassing us sexually. We want he should be punished and thrown out of the NIT.”
On the details of the FIRs, PK Mishra, DSP, Rourkela, said, “Two women security guards have lodged complaints alleging sexual harassment and abuse. Besides, the Fact Finding team formed by the NIT director has lodged an FIR against Champatiray. We will club all the complaints together and probe into the matter.”
Notably, on May 25, students of the NIT had caught Champatiray groping a woman security officer inside his office.
The students, who photographed Champatiray in the act, have launched a protest demanding his removal for sexual harassment of the subordinates by the Security Officer. They have alleged that Champatiray had been harassing more than a dozen women working under him.
The students are demanding arrest of Champatiray and an inquiry into the whole incident. Moreover, they have also sought the intervention of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
"We want the intervention of the MHRD and till that time we do not want to talk to any of the authorities here," said a protesting student.
"No they are making an issue about our stance rather than focusing on the accused. We want to know why and under whose direction the issue was being supressed since so many years," said another agitating student.
The agitating students also expressed their dissatisfaction over the complaint filed by the NIT officials against the CSO.
Notably on May 25, students of NIT, Rourkela caught Champatiray groping a woman security officer inside his office.
The students, who photographed Champatiray in the act, have launched a protest alleging sexual harassment of the subordinates by the CSO. Tthe students have alleged that Champatiray has harassed more than a dozen women working under him.
Protesting students have demanded arrest of Champatiray and an inquiry into the whole incident.
The team will give a complete report within a week,NIT sources said.
Students of NIT have levelled sexual harassment charges against security officer Balaram Champatiray alleging that he was indulging in indecent act with female security officers in the premises of the institute. The students have shown photographs and videos to the media as evidence of his misdemeanour.
Yesterday, the students met NIT Director Prof Sunil Kumar Sarangi in this regard and staged a dharna demanding dismissal of the Security Officer.
“We have strong evidence against Champatiray to prove that he has been exploiting his subordinates in broad daylight and inside the premises,” said a protesting student.
“We are also studying here. There must be some other persons involved in the crime; otherwise, no one can muster the courage to commit such acts inside the college. If the officer is thrown out, it will cause fear among his accomplices and prevent them from committing such acts,” said another student.
Meanwhile, accused Champatiray was asked not to join the duty in the institute.
Commenting on the matter, accused Champatiray said; “Nothing has been done either forcefully or consensually. It was just a mere prank among us. Sexual harassment allegations are totally false and it is being done to defame me.”
While National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela has managed to get 19th position in the expanded list, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar (IITB) was awarded 26th rank.
The Ministry of Human Resource and Development released the list under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) – a first-of-its-kind indigenous ranking framework.
As per the NIRF list for engineering institutions, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras was ranked first, followed by IIT, Bombay and IIT Kharagpur. For management studies, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore outsmarted IIM, Ahmedabad to rank number one.
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, ranks first in the list of best universities in the country.
Expressing satisfaction at the position it received, NIT, Rourkela director said more needs to be done to score better in the future.
“I am happy that NIT, Rourkel has got 19th rank in the country. But we must work harder to rank higher,” NIT director Sunil Sarangi said.
However the Odisha government has said the list is disappointing.
“It is unfortunate that not a single educational institution from Odisha got a rank in the top 10. It has thrown up a big challenge for all of us,” Higher Education minister Pradeep Panigrahi stated.
The institutions were ranked under four categories - engineering, management, pharmacy and universities and colleges. Under the pharmacy category, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences ranks number one in the country.
The JEE Main, which will be conducted by the National Testing Agency from 2019 onwards, is applicable for admission to premier institutes such as NITs (National Institute of Technology) and IIITs (Indian Institute of Technology).
"Experts and educators with proven test records have been brought on board to create and curate practice and mock test papers. We've been very meticulous while shaping our IIT-JEE app, keeping up with the current changes and needs," Atul Kulshrestha, Chairman and Managing Director, Extramarks Education, said in a statement on Sunday.
Among the salient features of the app is a national-level weekly test series, which will give students an instant performance analysis, along with their national peer ranking.
There is a set of mock tests, previous years papers and completely customisable chapter-wise tests, through which students can further strengthen their exam preparedness.
"The technology platform developed by Extramarks identifies areas of strength and improvement in a student's performance, thus bridging learning gaps and ensuring mastery over concepts, and helping students crack an effective exam strategy," Kulshrestha said.
"A total of 1,225 candidates have been selected after a rigorous selection process. Each teacher will be paid Rs 70,000 per month and they will train the youngsters for the next three years," Javadekar told reporters here.
The measure has come under the Technical Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP-III), a World Bank aided initiative of the Ministry, at the cost of Rs 2,300 crore.
He said these bright minds will bring with them openness to innovation, new methods of teaching, enthusiasm and would act as "agents of change".
The Central government is planning to spend about Rs 375 crore over three years on this initiative.
The new faculty has been deployed in 53 colleges in Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
"Underdeveloped status of these states has a reason -- lack of education. Not many good teachers are ready to go to these far-flung areas to teach... surveys have also shown it. That is why some of these places have a teacher vacancy of as much as 60 per cent.
"We hope that these teachers would contribute to the entire educational eco-system of the backward areas, apart from promoting a start-up culture among students," the Minister said.
He said that 86 per cent of the teachers are from top-ranking institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and 24 per cent of them are doctorate holders (Ph.Ds).
The selected faculty are coming from 369 districts of 26 states, "bringing an all India character to these backward colleges", he said.
Javadekar said a public appeal was given to M.Tech and Ph.D students from the institutions to express interest to work in these backward areas and serve the nation.
"There was an overwhelming response and more than 5,000 highly qualified persons applied. The interviews were conducted in 20 NITs by setting up expert teams.
"The entire process has been completed through a competitive and rigorous process over two months," he said.
The status of the teachers would be that of contractual employees, however "if they choose to, they can continue teaching after the three year project", Javadekar said.
The Health ministry had in April wrote to the director of NIT-Rourkela to submit a project proposal for establishment of a medical college and hospital with advanced research facility at the institution.
It also sought a proposal between June 15 and July 7, but no application was submitted by the institution citing lack of infrastructure for the purpose.
“We received a letter from the HRD Ministry that under the NIT Act, we are not authorized to award medical degrees,” said NIT registrar SK Upadhyay, adding that a proposal for an alternate medical research centre is there but it is still under the consideration of the institute’s board.
While it is alleged that lack of coordination among the two ministries is creating the problem, some accused that the Centre is intentionally delaying the matter to mislead people.
“Establishment of medical college is not possible in NIT. We had earlier told the same. The Centre is trying to mislead people for the sake of votes,” alleged BJD leader, Anand Chandra.
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Congress’ Birendra Senapati also lashed out at the NDA-led Central government accusing it of misleading people of Rourkela for political gains.
However, BJP leader Nihar Ray blamed NIT authorities for the ambiguity over the matter and alleged that the NIT failed to provide relevant documents.
“The HRD Ministry just informed about the norms but that doesn’t mean Rourkela will be deprived of a medical college,” added Ray.
While fly ash is being used for brick-making and road construction, the institutes will study the use of fly ash in other areas such as pre-fabricated roof, asbestos sheet and corrugated tiles.
"We would ask the two institutes to prepare report on use of fly ash in other areas. State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) would take technical support from IIT and NIT to use fly ash in making pre-fabricated roof, asbestos sheet and corrugated tiles," D.K. Behera, senior environmental scientist of SPCB told IANS.
Research projects for exploring the possibilities of use of fly ash can be formulated to study the techno-economic viability and sustainability in different sectors through IIT, Bhubaneswar and NIT, Rourkela.
The two institutions would also study the use of fly ash slurry for brick-making in the state, said Behera.
The state expects that fly ash generation in Odisha may touch 100 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) if all the installed and proposed thermal power plants (TPPs) in the state go into full capacity production.
Presently, the state generates about 25 mtpa fly ash per annum causing environment problem in the atmosphere.
Odisha generated about 24.52 million tonnes of fly ash in 2013-14. It is likely to touch 100 million tonnes per year if all TPPs envisaging a generation capacity of about 37,000 MW are commissioned.
“We are a leading technological institute but do not have enough experience in the making of a medical research institute and hospital. So after detailed consultations with planning bodies of reputed medical institutes who have the knowhow, we shall pursue the matter seriously," Chairman of the Board of Governors of NIT Rourkela, Santrupta Mishra said.
Mishra said the authorities will not be able to comment anything on the issue at least until June 2019.
After getting a proposal from the Union Health Department, we tried to move ahead with intent to set up the medical college but realised that not only norms pertaining to funds, infrastructure, faculty, regulation as per the Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines have to be fulfilled, but also there are far more issues legally as well.
Clarifying further, Mishra said “We are operating under the NIT-Act and so, whether establishing a medical college would be permissible remains to be seen. Since it is a matter of discussion at the parliament level we will have to wait and see.”
Earlier last week, a controversy surfaced over the issue amid conflicting directives of the Union Health and the Human Resource Development ministries.
While, the Health ministry had in April wrote to the director of NIT-Rourkela to submit a project proposal for establishment of a medical college and hospital with advanced research facility at the institution, no application was submitted by the institution citing lack of infrastructure for the purpose after a letter from the HRD Ministry stated that the since the institute comes under the NIT Act they are not authorized to award medical degrees.
The Institutions having a NAAC score of 3.5 and above, have been placed in Category I, the Institutions having a NAAC score of 3.26 to 3.5 have been placed in Category II and the remaining are placed in Category III.
The UGC has Notified UGC [Categorisation of Universities (only) for Grant of Graded Autonomy] Regulations, 2018 on 12th February, 2018. According to these Regulations, the Commission shall fix dates (at least two times in a year, preferably 1st of June and 1st of December) by which an institution shall submit a request in prescribed format for categorization under these Regulations.
The dates so fixed shall be notified at least six months in advance. All such applications shall be scrutinized by the Commission and orders on Categorization shall be passed within thirty days from the last date specified for the receipt of such applications. During this period, the Commission shall also place such application on its website.
No MOU has been inked between any of the Universities, UGC and the Ministry.
Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) has not been under active consideration of the Ministry hence, applications have not been invited for loans under this scheme.
However, Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), a not-for-profit organisation, has been set up to leverage funds from the market using market-based instruments duly scrutinizing the future flows that the institutions command. The total authorized equity capital of HEFA has been raised to Rs.10,000 crores, with the facility to leverage additional resources from market, based on requirement.
An additional Government Equity of Rs.5,000 crores, apart from the existing Rs.1,000 crores has been approved. So far, the applications of 17 IITs and 2 NITs have been considered and approved for giving loans under this scheme.
The HEFA Board has so far given in-principle approval to projects amounting to Rs.10,065.37 crores. Of these, an amount of Rs.5,260.90 crores has been approved so far.
The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela has secured 38th rank whereas SOA Deemed University has been ranked 41. While IIT Bhubaneswar has secured 46th place, KIIT Deemed University was ranked 50th. Among the engineering colleges, C.V Raman Engineering College secured 94th place.
The NIRF India Ranking is done on the basis of teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practices, outreach and inclusivity, graduation outcomes and perception.
The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras, topped the national ranking of higher institutes. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and IIT-Delhi ranked second and third in the list, respectively. Of the top 10 institutes, seven are IITs.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Banaras Hindu University ranked seventh and 10th respectively.
The Delhi University's Miranda House was ranked the best among colleges across the country, while the varsity's St Stephen's College was ranked fourth.
The HRD Ministry has been publishing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) since 2016.
Ahmed, who hails from Bhubaneswar, was rescued in an unconscious condition from the corridor of NIT hostel in Rourkela today. Later, the college authorities rushed Ahmed to the Community Welfare Society (CWS) hospital where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.
Though the exact reason behind Ahmed's death is still unclear, senior police have started a probe into the matter. Moreover, an unnatural death case has been registered in connection with the incident, reports said.
More details awaited.
The Steel and Mines Department of the State government issued a notice saying a decision has been taken to annul the auction process of 20 mining blocks which was initiated via notice inviting tenders (NITs) dated October 4, 14 and 18 following a meetings of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and High Level Committee (HLC).
Besides, it has directed the Director of Mines to begin the process for a fresh auction of the leases from December 6, 2019.
Even though the State government has not clarified any reasons for cancellation of the mining blocks, as per an official notification, the fresh notice for auction would be issued on December 6, while the technical bid will be opened January 4 next year. The State government hopes to complete the process by February 2020.
With some amendments in the tender documents, the government has made it clear that, 'A bidder shall submit only one bid for a particular mineral block. In case a bidder submits more than one bid for a particular block, either directly or indirectly through its affiliates, all such bids submitted by the bidder and its affiliates will be rejected.
Duration of the mentioned 20 mining leases will expire on March 31, 2020.
#Odisha government annuls auction process of 20 mining leases initiated via Notice Inviting Tenders (NITs) dated October 4, 14 & 18; directs Director of Mines to begin the process for fresh auction of the leases from December 6, 2019 pic.twitter.com/6kmSpkoVsq
— OTV (@otvnews) December 3, 2019
Setting example for farmers in Odisha, 77-year-old, Uday Chandra Patra from Rourkela, a retired mechanic, is now scripting his success story in growing bananas through organic farming on several acres of land inside the campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) in the steel city.
“We have grown worms in open pits which are used in the banana plants. Besides, we add an organic compost made up of a mixture of cow dung, curd, jaggery, chilly, ginger, neem and karanja leaves and many other medicinal plants which helps the trees to be healthy,” said Patra.
“Bananas do not grow in hilly terrain. The land here is hilly but we successfully grew bananas here. It was only possible because of the organic procedures,” added Patra.
Patra started banana farming around six months back. He is also supplying the self-prepared organic fertilizers at Rs 10 per kilogram to other farmers in Paralakhemundi of Gajapati district, Berhampur, Aska and Bhanjanagar in Ganjam district, Nayagarh, Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district and Rayagada.
“We are producing around 1500 tonnes of organic fertilizers in a year,” informed Patra.
Patra who has imparted training on organic farming to farmers in Hyderabad and several places of Odisha has appealed people to opt for organic farming which can be instrumental in reducing pollution.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
https://youtu.be/xEvHyy_ndio
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In a tweet, Pokhriyal said that it has been decided to waive off the 75% marks (in class 12 exam) eligibility criteria under Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for the next academic year 2021-2022.
Considering the decision taken for IIT JEE(Advanced) and in line with the decision taken for the last academic year, it has been decided to waive off the 75 % marks eligibility criteria in respect of NITs, IIITs, SPAs and other CFTIs, whose admissions are based on JEE (Main).
in respect of NITs, IIITs, SPAs and other CFTIs, whose admissions are based on JEE (Main).
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) January 19, 2021
It is pertinent to mention here that all the admissions to various Under Graduate (UG) programmes of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur (West Bengal) and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs - excluding IITs) are made on the basis of ranks / merit secured by the candidates in Joint Entrance Examination (Main) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
For the candidates to qualify for admission in the IITs / NITs / IIITs and such other CFTis whose admissions are based on the JEE Ranks, they should have secured at least 75% marks in the 12th Class exam, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th Class exam conducted by the respective Boards. For SC/ST students, the qualifying mark in 12th Class exam is 65%.
While declaring the date of JEE (Advanced) exam, the Education Minister has announced to waive off the 75% marks (in class 12th exam) eligibility criteria for admissions to the academic year 2021-2022 for the ease of students
On January 7, Pokhriyal had announced the date of JEE Advanced 2021 exams and the eligibility criteria for admission in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The minister said that JEE Advanced 2021 will be conducted on July 3, 2021. The exam will be conducted by IIT Kharagpur.
Pokhriyal said that this year students willing to get admission in IITs will not be required to meet the criterion of minimum 75 per cent marks in class 12.
Trying to shun the so called freebies culture that the poor of Odisha have been made accustomed to, some professors from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Rourkela have joined hands to set up this unique market to help out poor tribals devoid of basic amenities.
And they are not giving those up free of cost, but have put a nominal cost of Rs 5 on every product on sale, just to inculcate 'earn to live' culture among them.
As per reports, the 'haat' was organised by the NIT professors with the help of an NGO named Abhibyakti Research and Development Foundation, which was founded by Dr Antarjita Nayak, a Postdoctoral researcher at NIT herself.
Speaking about the noble cause, Nayak said, "We have put almost everything on sale here. Our purpose of this haat was to break the freebies culture, so that the buyers understand the value of money and the effort needed to make these products."
"Apart from that, we have arranged a debate competition to be held on International Women's Day on Monday for women who have purchased items from this haat. And the winner of the competition will be gifted a bicycle for her child," said Nayak.
"We chose this village because it has a good number of children and we feel that in order to shape the future of our state, we need to infuse values in them right from childhood. Moreover, Abhibyakti Research and Development Foundation has adopted this village to provide healthcare, education to the locals.
The earnest effort by these educationists has garnered commendations from all quarters.
Even as the institutes have conducted examinations amid strict adherence to the Covid guidelines, the situation still remains out of control. Fresh Covid-19 cases in the campus have spread panic among the students during examination season.
"We are in a grip of panic after two from the campus tested positive for the virus. So, we are in a dilemma whether to attend the paper or not. Detection of fresh cases in the campus has created anxiety," said Manas Panda, a student at Ravenshaw University.
Some technical institute like NIT, Rourkela have decided to conduct the exam through online mode after students vehemently opposed offline system during pandemic time. The NIT authorities have decided to issue fresh notification for the online exam.
"The authorities in consultation with the senate members have decided to conduct exam in online mode as the Covid cases created panic among students even though the online system is not so effective," said Pradeep Dash, Registrar of NIT, Rourkela.
Although a virtual mode can be considered as an option for the technical courses, it is not possible in case of general students.
"In some cases, online examination can be conducted. But, it will not be feasible for all the papers. Still, the university authorities will take a decision on the issue," said Bhabani Prasad Sahoo, a student of Ravenshaw University.
Meanwhile, 21 persons including eight students, 13 teachers have tested positive for the Covid-19 at an engineering college in Jharsuguda today.
Similarly, 45 persons including students and staffers at Xavier Institute of Management in Bhubaneswar had tested for the virus a few days ago. These apart, positive cases have also been detected at Ravenshaw Varsity (Cuttack), VISSUT (Sambalpur) and a residential college in Cuttack recently.