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The Ministry of Human Resources and Development (HRD) of the Government of India has set up several premier technical institutes, across the country that produce India's world class talent pool in science, engineering, and management, and contribute strongly to the economic development of the state where they are located as well as the nation. These institutions include the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the five Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs),20 "National Institute of Technology" (NIT's), Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), several Central Universities, and a few other smaller institutions, all of which receive direct funding from the center (i.e. federal government) instead of relying on smaller budgets through their state and local governments.[1]
According to recent news reports, there has been large scale discrimination in setting up these institutions of higher learning against a few states, especially Orissa.[2] It has also been observed within scholarly circles that Orissa is routinely discriminated against by the Indian government, which has caused the state to lag behind the rest of the nation in terms of infrastructure, poverty reduction, literacy, education, and health.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
| State | Established institutions[11][12] | Planned institutions[13][14] |
|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | 2 Central univ., IITTM, IIT | SPA, 2 IIESTs, Central univ. |
| Arunachal Pradesh | NE Regional Inst. of Sc., Central Univ | (None) |
| Assam | IIT, NIPER, 2 Central univ. | (None) |
| Bihar | IIT, NIPER | (None) |
| Chhattisgarh | (IIM,NIT, Central Univ) | (AIIMS) |
| Delhi | IIT, IITTM, AIIMS, SPA, 4 Central univ. | (None) |
| Goa | (1 Central Univ, National Institute of Water Sports [Under IITTM]) | (National Institute of Technology) |
| Gujarat | IIM, NIPER, IIT, NID | (None) |
| Haryana | NITTR | (IIM, Central Univ) |
| Himachal Pradesh | Indian Inst. of Adv. Studies | (IIT) |
| Jammu & Kashmir | (National Institute of Technology, Srinagar) | (none) |
| Jharkhand | Indian School of Mines, NIFFT | (None) |
| Karnataka | IISc,IIM,ISI, IIIT | (None) |
| Kerala | IIM, SCT Instt. of Med. Sc., IISER | IIST |
| Madhya Pradesh | IIM, IIITM, IITTM, NITTR, IIITD&M, NIT, IISER | SPA, IIT, AIIMS, NID, World Class Univ, Central Univ |
| Maharashtra | IIT, NITIE, BOAT, AFMC, Central univ., IISER | (None) |
| Manipur | Central Agr. Univ. | Central univ. |
| Meghalaya | Central univ. | IIM |
| Mizoram | Central univ. | (None) |
| Nagaland | Central univ. | (None) |
| Orissa | (NISER,ILS,XIMB, IIIT, IITTM, Bhubaneswar) | (NID, IIT, AIIMS) |
| Punjab | NIPER, SLIET, NITTR, IISER | (None) |
| Rajasthan | IIT | (AIIMS) |
| Sikkim | (None) | Central univ. |
| Tamil Nadu | IIT, NITTR, BOAT, Central univ. | IIIT |
| Tripura | (None) | Central univ. |
| Uttarakhand | IIT | (None) |
| Uttar Pradesh | IIT, IIM, IIIT, BOAT, 3 Central univ. | IIEST, Central univ. |
| West Bengal | IIT, ISI, IIM, Central univ, IISER | IIEST Kolkata (BESUS -> IIEST) |
Table showing the distributions of institutions of national importance across India, excluding the NITs of which every major state has one.
None of the premier institutions of national importance are located in the eastern state of Orissa. In terms of per capita funding received from the HRD ministry, it is among the bottom-most of all states. The only states below it are Bihar, Rajasthan, and a few very small states in the north eastern region. There have been estimates of the amount of HRD funding received by each state within the Indian union. One recently published estimate is provided in the table below.[1][15][16]
| State | Total2 | Per capita | Times Orissa | State | Total* | Per capita | Times Orissa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | 124.60 | 16 | 3.94 | Arunachal Pradesh | 14.5 | 127.00 | 31.2 |
| Assam | 225.74 | 82.00 | 20.13 | Bihar | 15.38 | 1.87 | 0.46 |
| Chhattisgarh | 15.38 | 17.40 | 1.82 | Delhi | 262.83 | 177.12 | 43.49 |
| Goa | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Gujarat | 25.63 | 4.87 | 1.20 |
| Haryana | 18.85 | 8.52 | 2.09 | Himachal Pradesh | 21.18 | 33.79 | 8.30 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 15.38 | 14.51 | 3.56 | Jharkhand | 43.64 | 16.22 | 3.98 |
| Karnataka | 136.63 | 25.13 | 6.17 | Kerala | 25.63 | 7.90 | 1.94 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 42.61 | 7.20 | 1.77 | Maharashtra | 172.03 | 17.09 | 4.20 |
| Manipur | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Meghalaya | 54.61 | 225.10 | 55.27 |
| Mizoram | 54.61 | 584.05 | 143.40 | Nagaland | 54.61 | 249.01 | 61.14 |
| Orissa | 15.38 | 4.07 | 1.00 | Punjab | 33.55 | 13.34 | 3.27 |
| Rajasthan | 15.38 | 2.59 | 0.64 | Sikkim | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Tamil Nadu | 112.77 | 17.79 | 4.37 | Tripura | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Uttaranchal | 89.40 | 105.42 | 25.88 | Uttar Pradesh | 293.53 | 17.08 | 4.19 |
| West Bengal | 232.71 | 28.10 | 6.90 | India Total | 2102.31 | 20.00 | 4.91 |
*in crore (=10,000,000) rupees
The non-allocation of quality educational institutions to the state of Orissa by New Delhi has been interpreted by various quarters, ranging from politicians to Oriya academics living abroad, as proof of discrimination against the state by the HRD ministry. Orissa, which has 3.6% of the population of India, receives a minuscule 0.73% of the allocated budget[15] This, it is claimed falls within the purview of a larger pattern of what the national media has labelled as the "step-motherly treatment" meted out to Orissa by the government of India.
India's recent rapid economic expansion has created the need for more world class talent. The Human Resources and Development ministry has undertaken the need to set up several more institutions of international quality. A total of twenty three institutions were announced, including more IITs, IIMs, Central Universities, as well as the new Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) and the Indian Institutes of Engineering Science & Technology (IIESTs), all under the 11th Five Year Plan. As before, the state of Orissa has not been allocated any institution of national importance and continues to be the last state in terms of per capita investment in human resources by the Indian government.[1][17][18] The regional disparities in this regard has been pointed out even by C. N. R. Rao, the scientific advisor to the Prime Minister of India.[19]
The HRD ministry has recently announced plans to build three additional IITs in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. According to recent reports, the allocation of the new IITs to Rajasthan and Bihar are to compensate them for earlier neglect.[20] Andhra Pradesh, which borders Orissa will get the third IIT, which allegedly was shifted from Orissa.[21] If the Indian media is to be believed, the UPA government has categorically declined to establish an IIT in Orissa.[22][23][24]
The IIESTs are a group of technical institutions that are planned to be established as IIT clones. They will be set up by upgrading existing NITs and other state funded prominent engineering institutions. Several institutions have been identified by the Indian government for this purpose.[25] Orissa has three premier technical institutions,Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology[VSSUT] (ESTD:-1956)burla,the first technical institute of orissa,International Institute of Information Technology,Bhubaneswar "International Institute of Information Technology,Bhubaneswar". http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in., the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) at Bhubaneswar "College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar". http://www.cet.edu.in.</ref>, and the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. VSSUT ranks 46 th in India by a survey of wall street journal among the engineering colleges in India in 2009 (http://www.moneymint.in/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/top-50-govenrment-enginerring-colleges-india-2009.jpg rankings).VSSUT is among the oldest engineering colleges in India,front runner for being IIEST in orissa but was allegedly sidelined when identifying potential IIESTs.
It has been alleged that the government had originally picked Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa as one of the locations for an IISER, which was later shifted to Kolkata.[26] This issue was resolved when it was decided to set up a similar institution, the National Institute for Science Education and Research (NISER), which would be funded through a separate ministry. NISER is the only such upcoming institution in Orissa, whereas other states have had similar non-HRD funded institutions for several decades.[27]
The Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi (KBK) region of Orissa[28] is one of the most backward regions of India, with famines and large scale starvation deaths reported each year.[29] The region lacks infrastructure and the Indian government has done very little to alleviate the plight of the impoverished masses in those districts.[30][31] There is a long-standing demand by the people of Orissa for the Indian government to establish a central university in this region, as part of the plan to ameliorate the poverty through various direct and indirect means such as education, as is being done in the underdeveloped north-east region.[32][33][34][35]
The government of India has decided to establish three new IIMs.[36] There is a demand for one of the new management institutions to be established in Orissa, on grounds that the state is witnessing large-scale foreign investment, and because it is the bottom-most state in Indian central government funded institutions.[37]
It is widely believed in Orissa that the first IIT was to be established in Balasore. However due to some misunderstanding on the part of the state government, land could not be procured for the project and the first IIT was thus moved to Kharagpur. The proximity of Kharagpur to Orissa is cited as proof of the theory that the government of India actually intended the first IIT for Orissa. A similar theory is held in favour in Andhra Pradesh regarding IIT Madras. Both theories are highly controversial but reflect the dissatisfaction of the people of those states, especially Orissa in the allocation made by the central government in the field of higher education. An institution like IIT is a matter of honour for the home state and also a large investment. IIT Kharagpur for example, is a crucial element of Kharagpur's economy.
Politicians including the chief minister of Orissa, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, have sought to cast this festering issue as a sign of severe neglect of the state by the government in New Delhi led by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).[38][39][40][41][42][43] In May 2007, the issue became a major issue in the Indian parliament.[44][45][46] In his words, “Orissa does not have a single institution of national excellence and the demand for IIT is a long-standing one”.[47] The opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) staged a walk-out in the Indian parliament, accusing the ruling UPA of neglecting the state's economic development.[48][49][50]
It has been reported by sections of the media in May 2007 that the Congress party led UPA government has been embarrassed by this issue.[51] The HRD minister, Mr. Arjun Singh has also relented.[52]
There have been several incidents of protest in Orissa in 2007.[53] Students have taken to the streets to demand the setting up of an IIT and other educational institutions in Orissa.[54][55][56] Agamee Orissa, an organisation spearheading a mass agitation in Orissa has organised statewide rallies.[57][58] There also have been stray incidents of violence related to the issue of Orissa's neglect.[59] In May 2007, this issue was taken up by the National Students Union of India (NSUI).[60]
