TNI Bureau: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has written a letter to his Cabinet colleague and Union Education Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank, requesting him to upgrading the Utkal University to the status of a Central University.

Dharmendra Pradhan cited Utkal University’s 75-year-old heritage and tradition of nurturing academic excellence of higher education in Odisha, while seeking Central University status for the most popular institution in the State, also known as Vani Vihar.

He also said that the needs of welfare of students in Odisha and PM Modi’s vision of empowering institutions of higher learning in the country, promoting research as well as creating industry-ready manpower, should be taken into consideration.

Dharmendra Pradhan, an alumnus of Utkal University, drew attention to the fact that while Bihar has 4 Central Universities and Andhra Pradesh has 3, Odisha has just one Central University, i.e; Central University, Koraput.