Sambalpur among 6 IIMs confirmed by Union Cabinet

Putting all speculations into rest, the Centre has finally confirmed Sambalpur as the one of the centres for the new Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The Cabinet has approved 6 new IIMs in the country, which includes Sambalpur. Other IIM centres are Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab) and Nagpur (Maharashtra). It was announced by Communications & IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad.

On June 22, 2015, a four-member central team had visited the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) sites near Sambalpur and said that they would submit the report to the HRD Ministry by June 25.

The academic sessions at the new IIMs would begin from 2015-16, which means admission process would start soon. The intake capacity of the IIMs would be 140. It would be interesting to see which area in Sambalpur will be identified for the IIM centre.

The Odisha Government has identified several spots such as Rengali, Dhankauda and Neeldungri for the permanent campus and selected Government Polytechnic, Rengali, Sambalpur University Institute of Information Technology (SUIIT), Burla, and Silicon Institute of Technology, Sason, for temporary campus.

Meanwhile, the Odisha Government, political parties and people in Sambalpur have welcomed the decision. Both Odisha Government as well as the Centre deserve kudos choosing Western Odisha as the IIM hub.