Bhubaneswar: Completing the process of site selection for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar, a four-member team, headed by Ashok Thakur, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), has zeroed on Aragul as the venue for the IIT.

Talking about the location, Mr. Thakur said, "We find the site at Aragul most suitable for the new IIT as several other institutes of higher education such as the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) and IT parks are also coming in the area."

Aragul is just four kms away from the Jatni railway station and 12 kms from the Biju Patnaik Airport.

Director of IIT Kharagpur Damodar Acharya, former Director of IIT Mumbai A.K. Dey, and Secretary of All-India Council for Technical Education K. Narayan Rao were also a part of the site selection team.

"The Orissa Government is extremely supportive of IIT Bhubaneswar and has committed to provide 900 acres of land so as to accommodate the future growth of this IIT", Thakur added.

IIT Bhubaneswar offers courses in three disciplines namely; civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. Students at IIT Bhubaneswar will be housed at IIT Kharagpur for the first year. IIT Kharagpur will act as the mentoring institution of IIT Bhubaneswar for a period of three years.

IIT Kharagpur has already initiated measures to start running the classes of IIT Bhubaneswar at its Bhubaneswar Centre from the next academic session.

The HRD Ministry is in the process of appointing a new Director for the IIT at Bhubaneswar.