Weekend News and Views-October

Who is to be blamed?
Over 8000 seats in Engineering, 2000 in MCA, 1300 in MBA streams are lying vacant even after two rounds of Joint Entrance examinations followed by Counseling conducted by the JEE Committee constituted by Policy Planning Body of Government of Orissa. Many wealthy people (not entrepreneurs) have jumped into the higher and technical education sector to make quick money without understanding the ground reality. Without any constructive thought the state government has given NOC and AICTE, NewDelhi has granted permission to start 30 new engineering colleges in the state increasing the seat capacity from 20,000 to 30,000 suddenly in 2009. In this year a substantial portion of eligible science students have migrated to southern states for engineering education due to lower fee structures prevailing there. The students coming from neighbouring states like Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar etc. have preference for older engineering colleges in Orissa. Therefore the newer engineering colleges have failed to fill even 25 % of their allotted seats and in the process have made their future dark. Who is to be blamed for this sorry state of affair in engineering education? The promoters, the state Government or AICTE. In my view all the above three are responsible for this gloomy state and it shows lack of vision, planning and coordination among the stakeholders.
Green Rating for Residential Building
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Indian Green Building Council, has introduced a green home rating system for the residential sector. The proposed rating system will serve as a frame work for urban planning and will address issues like water conservation, handling of consumer wastes, use of renewable energy sources, etc. State Bank of India (SBI) has announced to offer concession to developers and owners constructing green homes. With payback period of 3 to 4 years for an incremental investment of 8-10 %, the green home concept may become successful in near future.
Bijay Panda no more
I came to know from Prof.R.K.Sahoo the sad demise of Sri. Bijay Kumar Panda who graduated in Mechanical Engineering from REC, Rourkela in 1966. Though I am not fortunate enough to meet him personally, yet I knew him indirectly from the people who have worked with him. He will be remembered for his impeccable integrity and style of management at Rourkela Steel Plant, Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limited, Essar Steel and Nilachala Ispat Nigam Limited.