ISM-Dhanbad

Ranchi, July 29: Chief minister Arjun Munda has thrown his weight behind a campaign seeking IIT status for Indian School of Mines, promising an Assembly resolution to press for the demand at the Centre.

The Dhanbad cradle, which is spread over a sprawling 220 acres and admits close to 1,000 students annually under basic BTech courses alone, has churned out corporate honchos in mining, earth sciences, mineral and oil sectors for long.

However, as it seeks expansion, with the state government promising it another 240 acres, the institute has been struggling of late to fill its seats for want of a bigger brand name.

But, putting “mine” over matter, Munda told The Telegraph: “We will be bringing a resolution in the Assembly during the monsoon session for granting IIT status to ISM-Dhanbad. The resolution will be sent to the Centre with the background of the premier institute, which is Asia’s biggest in mining and allied sectors.”

Welcoming the chief minister’s support, ISM director professor A. Chattopadhyay revealed that 220 out of the 975 seats on offer at the institute would remain vacant this academic session.

“A new IIT such as the one in Rajasthan has been able to fill all its seats. What really concerns us that despite being a world-class institute, many seats in ISM are vacant. Once we get an IIT tag, this wouldn’t be a problem any more,” said Chattopadhyay.

Besides, if it earns an IIT status, ISM-Dhanbad will receive more grants in aid from the Union ministry of human resource development. The assistance the cradle gets under an OBC implementation and expansion plan will also increase manifold.

Sources said that at present nearly 100 posts of teachers were lying vacant with well-qualified candidates preferring jobs in IITs to any other institute.

A proposal prepared by Educational Consultants India Limited seeking IIT status for ISM was also pending with the institute for over a year, sources added.

The students of ISM had launched their campaign in 2009 when they met Union minister of state for HRD D. Purandeswari. A group of teachers and students had also met Arjun Munda in Bokaro on Wednesday.

Similar to IITs, ISM also admits students through JEE. The institute, located in the heart of a coking coal belt, has gradually branched out into many fields, including engineering trades and management studies, after kicking off with the departments of mining engineering and applied geology in 1926.

Chart matter how IIT-tag would help ISM, Dhanbad

All the seats would get filled up

Posts of teachers would be filled up

More grant in aids

Proper OBC implementation and expansion plan execution