'Indian school of mines be turned into an IIT'
A demand to convert the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad into an Indian Institute of Technology was raised in the Rajya Sabha by a JMM member.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Sanjiv Kumar said around 1500 students of Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, are agitating in front of Jantar Mantar and an equal number are doing so in ISM, Dhanbad, demanding the 86-year-old Institute be converted into an IIT.

He said though Jharkhand assembly had passed a resolution in 2011 requesting the Centre for the conversion of Indian School of Mines into IIT, Dhanbad, nothing has happened.

He said Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, was established in 1926 as a specialized institute in the field of Earth Sciences and is now a full-fledged engineering college with 17 departments.

Raising another issue, Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) demanded the early setting up of a campus of Aligarh Muslim University in Kishanganj of Bihar and release of funds for the same by the central government.

Ansari said the funds are not being released despite top Congress leaders making poll promises during Bihar assembly elections.

He said though Bihar government has handed over 224 acres of land for the setting up of the campus, the Centre is not releasing funds for the same, resulting in delay in the establishment of the campus.