Sambalpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a day visit to Odisha, inaugurated the permanent campus of Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur, (IIM-S) at Basantpur, on the outskirts of the city, on Saturday.
Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bishweswar Tudu were present.
Dharmendra expressed gratitude to the PM for allocating Rs 1,21,117 crore to the Education Ministry in the Interim Union Budget 2024. He further said that the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus for research in technology will directly benefit the new generation.
“Today’s event marks the inauguration of a project by the PM for which he had laid the foundation stone through virtual mode on January 2, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, stressing that Modi ensures that project taken up are completed within the targeted time period.
While talking about the importance of IIMs, the CM said that the Prime Minister has set a new direction for the country and it is on a path to become an economic power. “This is a golden period for startups India and Odisha is a top performer in the country for promoting startups,” he said.
Naveen added, “Odisha hosting the first World Odia Language Conference from today and we are fortunate to have the PM, who is a lover of Indian languages, in our midsts.”
IIM-S NEW CAMPUS
The new campus at Basantpur spread over 200 acres has been built, incorporating regional art and architecture, with an investment of Rs 401.94 crore. Traditional IKAT – a patterned textile-dyeing technique – is mapped onto the brick facade which gives a remarkable elegance to the campus.
It is equipped with modern facilities for administration, faculty, academics, including auditoriums, libraries, sports zone, incubation centres, and hostels. IIM-S has its own Incubation Centre, governed by the Innovation and Incubation Cell, to build an ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs by providing them with a platform to interact, learn and network with a multitude of people which includes investors, venture capitalists, industry experts. It also boasts of a rooftop photovoltaic solar power plant with advanced features like motion sensor lights and solar water heating systems. The institute has implemented astronomical timers for external lighting and a high BEE star rating, aimed at cutting electricity consumption by 55 per cent. The campus also has an on-site waste water treatment system.
Recently, Dharmendra inaugurated the ‘Rangavati Centre of Excellence in Cultural and Sustainable Management’ at IIM Sambalpur as a part of the 4-Day 9th PAN IIM World Management Conference. The primary focus of the centre will be research on the art, literature, culture, and history of western Odisha, with a special emphasis on textiles.
The foundation stone for the permanent campus was laid by the PM through virtual mode on January 2, 2021. Initially, the B-school operated from a privately-run institution, Silicon Institute of Technology, campus at Sason area.
