Bhubaneswar, May 31: The merger between Institute of Mathematics and Applications (IMA) and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Calcutta, is expected to take place in October, if the official formalities are completed on time.

Director of IMA Sudarshan Padhy said this to reporters on the sidelines of the prize distribution ceremony of Mathematics Olympiad 2012 organised here today.

“For the merger to take place, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has to be signed between ISI, IMA and the state government. ISI has already prepared the first draft of the MoU for the merger and has forwarded it to IMA. We are going through the proposal and will give our feedback,” said Padhy.

A merger between IMA and ISI was proposed by the state government to provide a wider space for research and teaching. While the ISI is governed by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, IMA is under the jurisdiction of the state government.

“Once the merger is finalised, the state government will hand over land for the new campus,” Padhy said.