New Delhi: The Central government has released Rs 130 crore for establishment of a state-of-the-art Research and Entrepreneurship Park in IIT, Bhubaneswar.
Union Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar said while replying to a query of BJD MP Debashish Samantaray in Rajya Sabha today. Samantray has sought reply from the Union Minister about the number of research projects and innovative practices approved and funded in Odisha Universities in the last five years.
To promote innovation, research, and entrepreneurship, the Government of India has approved a project of Rs 130 Crore for establishment of the Research and Entrepreneurship Park in IIT, Bhubaneswar, he said.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are premier institutions recognized globally for excellence in technical education, research, and innovation.
IIT Bhubaneswar, Odisha has also launched “100 Cube” initiative, which aims to foster robust innovation, cutting edge research, and accelerated product development and provides world-class infrastructure, expert mentorship, funding opportunities, and strong industry-academia partnerships, Shri Majumdar said.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a total of 96.38 crore for research activities in different higher educational institutions of Odisha during the last five financial years, he informed.
Further, he said, in accordance with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, the UGC has developed “Guidelines for establishment of Research & Development Cells in Higher Education Institutions” for setting up a robust mechanism for developing and strengthening the research ecosystem within the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).
Accordingly, upto November 2024, 1689 HEIs across the country have established Research & Development cells with 18 located in the State.
Similarly, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) carry out research in frontier areas of science to provide quality science education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As on date, there are 7 IISERs out of which one is situated in Berhampur, Odisha.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi sanctioned an Emeritus Scientist Project to Dr. C.R. Satapathy, Emeritus Scientist, College of Agriculture in Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, and released a sum of Rs 40.62 lakhs from December 2020 to November 2023, he pointed out.
Dr. C.R. Satapathy worked on “Standardization of comb honey production technology in Apis cerana indica Fab for empowering beekeepers of Odisha to double their income”.
The Union Minister said OUAT, Bhubaneswar was also granted Institutional Development Plan project on “Branding the University for Excellence and Equity in Agricultural Education to Produce Skilled Graduates for Enhanced Employment and Entrepreneurship” under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), a mega network project of the ICAR co-funded equally by the Central Government and World Bank.
The Centre has sanctioned Rs 24.97 crore for a period from 2018-19 to 2023-24. The project has improved the efficiency of Agricultural Higher Education through enhanced faculty competence, innovative partnerships with industry and international universities and strengthening/ renovation/modernization of existing physical facilities, he added.
For strengthening the research ecosystem across India, the Department of Science and Technology is also implementing the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST) programme and the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) scheme.
Over the years, more than 20 academic institutions of Odisha have been supported under FIST scheme. KIIT (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha received support under the PURSE initiative, he added.
Besides, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has also supported 73 R&D projects in the State in the last five years, Shri Majumdar informed.