By Bizodisha, Bhubanewar, August 1, 2015 : Odisha government on Saturday chose Berhampur as location for Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced the central research institute for Odisha besides Nagaland in his budget speech for 2015-16.

Technical education and training minister Sanjay Dasburma here on Saturday said the institute will begin admission from 2016-16 academic year. “The state government will provide 200 acre land for the proposed central institute,” the minister told a news conference.

A committee led by chief secretary Gokula Chandra Pati will monitor progress of the proposed IISER, he said.

The government’s move to locate Niser at southern town of Berhamput comes on the expected lines after Sambalpur in western Odisha was picked up for Indian Institute of Management (IIM). There was mass agitation in Berhampur to press the government for the elite B school. By gifting IISER, the government has attempted to placate the southern Odisha.

Despite being the biggest urban centre in southern Odisha and a municipal corporation, the ‘Silk City’ doesn’t have any prominent central institute. The city in Ganjam district has got special political significance for the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) because chief minister Naveen Patnaik represents Hinjili assembly segment from the same district.

While Bhubaneswar has top central government institutes such as IIT, AIIMS and NISER, Rourkela has NIT. Koraput in south-west part of the state hosts the Central University of Orissa. After IIM went Sambalpur, by gifting the premier science education and research institutes in India to Berhampur, the state government seems to have struck a delicate balance among different regions of the state.