At last, ISM Dhanbad gets Indian Institute of Technology status

The Union Cabinet approved giving IIT status to the Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad on Wednesday in a move that had been a long time in coming.

The Union Cabinet approved giving IIT status to the Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad on Wednesday in a move that had been a long time in coming.

The Union Cabinet approved giving IIT status to the Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad on Wednesday. (Photo: ISM website)

Col (Retd) MK Singh, Registrar ISM, while appreciating the response of the government, said, Prime Minister has done whatever he had promised during the Lok Sabha elections. “We are very thankful to the Prime Minister and Union HRD minister for giving enormous attention and respect to our institution,” said the registrar.

Similarly, students too welcomed the development.

ISM had been fighting for an IIT tag since 2013.

The institute was promised it would get the label so that it gets better placement opportunities, more research funds from the government, better opportunities for international collaborations, and a positive change in perception.

Last year, several students of the premiere institute had also taken to the streets against the delay in the upgrade.

Over one thousand students had demonstrated at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in 2013 and got huge support from the political leaders especially MPs across the country.

The institute was formally opened on December 9, 1926, by Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India to address the need for trained manpower related to mining activities in the country with disciplines of Mining and Applied Geology.