Central government has released Rs 130 crore for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Research and Entrepreneurship Park in IIT, Bhubaneswar

Newdelhi:18/12/24:The Central government has released Rs 130 crore for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Research and Entrepreneurship Park in IIT, Bhubaneswar.

Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, said this replying to a query from BJD MP Debashish Samantaray in the Rajya Sabha today. Samantaray sought a reply from the Union Minister about the number of research projects and innovations approved and funded in Odisha in the last few years.

To promote innovation, research, and entrepreneurship, Govt of India has approved a project of Rs 130 crore for the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Park at IIT Bhubaneswar, he said.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IT) are premier institutions recognized globally for excellence in technical education and innovation.

IIT Bhubaneswar, Odisha, has launched the “100” initiative, which aims foster robust innovation,-edge research, and accelerated product development, providing world-class infrastructure, expert mentorship, funding opportunities, and strong industry-academia partnerships, Shri Majumdar said.

The University Grants CommissionUGC) has released total of Rs 96.38 crore for research activities in higher educational institutions of Odisha during the last five financial years, informed further, said, under the vision of the National Policy (NEP) 2020 the UGC has “Guidelines for the Establishment of Research & Development Cells Higher Education Institutions” set up a robust mechanism for developing and strengthening research ecosystem within Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).

Accordingly, up to November 4, 1689 HEIs across the country have established Research & Development cells, 18 located in the state.

According to the data, up to November 2024, 1,689 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country have established Research & Development cells, 18 located in the State.

Similarly, the Indian Institutes of Science Education, and Research (IISERs) conduct research in frontier areas of science to provide quality science education at the undergraduate level. As of now, there are seven IISERs, one of which is situated in Berhampur, Odisha.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, sanctioned an Emeritus Scientist Project to Dr. C.R. Satapathy, Emer Scientist, College of Agriculture in Odisha of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), Bhubanes, and released a sum of Rs 40.62 lakh 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 an Institutional Development project on “Branding University for Excellence and Equity in Agricultural Education to Produce Skilled Graduates for Enhanced Employment and Entrepreneurship” under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), a mega network project of the ICAR-funded equally by the Central Government and World Bank.

The Centre has sanctioned Rs 24.97 crore for the 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 the strengthening/renovation/modernisation of existing physical facilities, he said.

To strengthen the 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.

Furthermore, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has supported 73 R&D projects in the State over the last five years, Shri Majumdar informed.