When Chhattisgarh was created in 2000, the need for a proper capital city was acutely felt. The government had been forced to repurpose old hospital buildings and government research centers to house the Legislature and Secretariat in Raipur, the designated capital of the new state. Fast forward to 2018, the development of Atal Nagar (formerly Naya Raipur) is in full swing.
Human resource development has been a massive priority for the Chhattisgarh government under Dr. Raman Singh. It is the firm belief of the government that citizens of Chhattisgarh can climb out of the evils of poverty, underdevelopment and the misguided Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) only through education. Skill development has even been enshrined as a “Right of the People” by the state legislature. The impact of this far-sighted policy is evident everywhere in the state, from the shiny new capital Atal Nagar to the remote hinterlands of Bastar and Dantewada.
Renamed in honor of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister and a colossus in Indian politics for decades, Atal Nagar is the 6th planned city and 10th smart city in India. Along with facilities to house the administrative heart of Chhattisgarh, the city also has plans to become an advanced educational hub. The old capital Raipur already boasts of an impressive list of national level institutions in fields of Law, Medicine, Science & Engineering, Medicine, and Arts.
So for the planners of the new city proposed 17 km south of Raipur, the objective was to improve and expand the educational facilities available. This includes shifting old institutions to improved campuses and building new centers of learning from scratch. A 400-hectare “University Area” has been designated for the same. The following educational institutions are part of the future educational hub of Atal Nagar:
Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU)
The HNLU was the sixth National Law School of modern India, established in 2003 in Raipur. The law school is named in honor of a former Chief Justice of India. From a heritage building in the heart of Raipur, the HNLU shifted to a huge 65-acre campus in Atal Nagar in 2009.
The campus is located in a lush green and peaceful area of the city, beside a lake. It has advanced facilities like air-conditioned classrooms, WiFi connectivity, computer lab, and advanced teaching equipment. The law school has residential facilities and is recognized by both the University Grants Commission and Bar Council of India.
This center of legal excellence offers LLB, LLM, and Phd. courses to its students. The LLB course is of five-year duration, while the LLM is a one-year course. Admission is entirely on a merit basis, using the CLAT. The law school has close to 2000 students.
Indian Institute of Management Raipur (IIM-Rai)
The premier business and management school in the state of Chhattisgarh were established in 2010 by the Government of India. This is the tenth IIM to be created in India. The school has been running its classes on a temporary basis at the Government Engineering College in Raipur.
In 2013, the foundation stone was laid for a state of the art campus for the business school in Atal Nagar. This modern campus is laid out across nearly 200 acres of green, pollution-free area. The IIM-Rai new campus is expected to become functional in 2018.
Like other IIMs in India, IIM-Rai also offers numerous diploma courses in management. Admission to these postgraduate courses is through the Common Admission Test or CAT. The B-school has partnerships with international institutes in France, Germany, Greece, Mexico, and Bangkok.
International Institute of Information Technology Naya Raipur (IIIT-NR)
Named in honor of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, this IT and engineering school was established in 2015. The institution is a joint venture between the Chhattisgarh government and NTPC Ltd, the public sector company. The IIT-NR is recognized by the University Grants Commission as a State University.
The campus of this institution is located in Atal Nagar, is a fifty-hectare area with all modern infrastructure and amenities. It is located at the center of the new city and has residential facilities for the students.
The admission to this school is based on the Joint Entrance Examination or JEE. It offers two undergraduate courses, BTech in Computer Science & Engineering, and Btech in Electronics & Communications Engineering. Ph.D. Programs are also offered in these fields, as well as other subjects like Maths, Physics, and Management.
National Institute of Technology Raipur (NITRR)
The NITRR has a long history that dates back to 1956. This was one of the first National Institutes of Technology established in India. The institution has been recognized by the Central Government as an Institute of National Importance.
Like the HLNU, NITRR is being shifted from Raipur to a spacious new campus in Atal Nagar. The development and construction process for the same is currently underway in 200-acre area of land in Atal Nagar. It will have an academic zone as well as a residential zone with all modern amenities.
NITRR offers courses in a wide range of fields, from mining, geology, biotech, IT, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, and Architecture, just to name a few. JEE exam is the basis for admission to this prestigious institution.
The state of Chhattisgarh is home to numerous centers of higher learning. Along with a Central University, the state also boasts of thirteen state-level public universities and nine private universities. In the field of medicine, AIIMS Raipur is the premier institution, along with around 8-9 government and private medical colleges as well. In Engineering, IIT Bhilai is the highest center of learning, while AIIMS Raipur holds the same distinction in the field of medicine.
Guru Ghasidas University
This Central University is one of the oldest centers of higher learning ever established in the state. It was created in 1983 in Bilaspur when Chhattisgarh was still a part of Madhya Pradesh. The university is named after a revered saint from the 17th century, Guru Ghasidas. The university offers courses in Humanities, Science, IT, Law, Engineering, and Management fields. It is located in a 700-acre campus close to the River Arpa in Bilaspur.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur (AIIMS Raipur)
AIIMS Raipur was one among the six premier medical colleges established in the country in 2012. Its parent institution is the AIIMS Delhi, which has been around since 1956. This medical college and research university is located in the center of Raipur city. The 100-acre campus has a full-fledged hospital with 930 beds that cater to the needs of the people in Raipur and rest of the state. The medical college accepts 100 students per batch.
Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai
In the field of engineering education in India, IITs are the last word. The Bhilai IIT was established in 2016, as part of the expansion of IITs in the country. At present, the institute shares the campus with IIM Raipur at the Government Engineering College in Raipur. The Bhilai campus is under construction, and 450 acres of land has been earmarked for it in the steel city of India. Like all other IITs, the Bhilai campus will offer BTech, MTech and Phd. courses in various engineering fields.