Xavier varsity bill may be tabled in monsoon session

After giving its nod to four privately promoted universities in the state, the Orissa government is set to table the Xavier University Bill in the ensuing monsoon session of the assembly.

Earlier, the state assembly had passed bills for setting up of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar University, Vedanta University, Icfai University and Centurion University of Technology & Management."We are making efforts to introduce the Xavier University Bill in the monsoon session of the assembly. All problems relating to the establishment of the university will be sorted out,” said state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik.

P T Joseph, director, Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar (XIMB) said, “We want the status of a unitary university. Our proposed second university is coming up on 35 acres of land at Jatani in Khurda district. Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco) is in the process of building a compound wall which will be completed soon. Then, we will start construction work on this campus in August.”

Joseph said, initially, XIMB will invest Rs 10-12 crore in the current financial year on the second campus.

While the university will function from XIMB's existing campus in the city, the rural management course will be shifted to the new campus. Besides the flagship Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), the new campus will offer courses like healthcare management, education management, human resource management and a doctoral programme in management for working executives.

XIMB had earlier announced to operationalize its second campus by 2012, coinciding with the silver jubilee of the institute's inception in 1987.

The institute had originally sought 100 acres for its proposed second campus and later scaled down its requirement to 60 acres.

Faced with a lot of hassles and inordinate delay in the land acquisition process, the institute has now settled for the 35-acre plot.

XIMB also has plans to set up a campus at Bolangir for the rural management course and a B-school at Sambalpur but details are yet to be finalized.