Centre: Orissa to get IIT and Central University

Orissa's demand for an IIT was finally approved by the Centre. Orissa will get an IIT and a Central University, as the Centre has proposed 30 Central Universities, 8 IITs and 7 IIMs during the 11th Five Year Plan. It was announced by Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh at a Press Conference in New Delhi. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other leaders of the state have welcomed the decision.

Orissa has been fighting a battle for long to get an IIT in the state. Although the NDA government had approved an IIT for the state, the UPA government had rejected Orissa's demand and instead shifted the project to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Under the new proposal, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab will get IITs. In addition, Institute of Technology of the Benaras Hindu University will be converted into an IIT. The government has also decided to set up IIMs in Shillong, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana.