MoU between IIT Madras and BRAIT An
MoU between Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Port Blair, under Andaman and Nicobar Administration, was signed recently for the benefit of students and faculty of BRAIT. The agreement envisages assistance from IIT-M in getting BRAIT students placed in their summer internships, allocating one seat each in PG and Ph.D programmes for the faculty/staff of BRAIT subject to the condition that the candidates are sponsored by the Administration and fulfil the eligibility criteria for the programme, development and organisation of short-term training and certificate courses by IIT-M and enabling BRAIT faculty, staff, and students to take part in continuing education courses of IIT-M. The BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology recently witnessed several strikes by students unhappy with the quality of the faculty. They demanded that well-trained faculty be appointed.
Telecom connectivity to improve
Andaman and Nicobar Islands are known for poor telecom connectivity. The internet in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is terribly slow. But now there is good news: The Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral DK Joshi (Retd.), during a recent event in Andaman, said that the currently installed capacity was 1.3 GBPS through satellite beam, and efforts were on to augment this to 2.7 GBPS by the year-end. He said that in addition to this, a submarine optical fibre cable will connect Chennai with Port Blair and five other Islands, which will bring about further improvement in telecom connectivity in the islands. He said this would also provide a platform for setting up IT-enabled services.
Free of open defecation
Last Friday, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands became free of open defecation, the fourth Union Territory to achieve this milestone after Daman and Diu, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Admiral DK Joshi (Retd.), officially declared the islands ‘Open Defecation Free’ under Swatch Bharat Mission (Gramin) during an event held at Raj Niwas.
Holistic development of four islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands have always been given priority in NITI Aayog’s discussions about development. For the development of more tourist destinations in the Islands, the local administration and NITI Aayog have identified four Islands for holistic development. They include Ross and Smith Island, Long Island, Avis Island and Little Andaman. According to the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the administration, along with NITI Aayog, is planning to host an investors’ conference in Delhi, during which projects related to development of the isles and investment opportunities will be discussed and negotiated. Andaman attracts low-value tourists though the focus was always on high-value tourists, but following the intervention of NITI Aayog, things might change for the good of the islands.
Sanjib Kumar Roy
Our correspondent in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
laurelsforsanjib@gmail.com