Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta University dream rekindles after Odisha CM’s ‘assurance’

Bhubaneswar: Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal on Thursday said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has "assured" him that the company’s proposed university should be established nowhere else other than Odisha.

Agarwal made the remark after holding discussions with Majhi here over the Group’s additional Rs 1 lakh crore investment in Odisha.

“The Vedanta University project was also discussed (in the meeting), and the chief minister told me that if a world-class university has to be set up, it should be only in Odisha. I thanked him for the gesture,” he told reporters.

Uncertainty surrounded the fate of the project after the Supreme Court in April 2023 upheld an Orissa High Court order over land acquisition issues.

“It is a dream project for us. Nearly 7 lakh Indian students go to foreign countries for higher studies, with each of them spending Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore. I want that they (the foreigners) should come here, instead. We have proposed the establishment of a non-profit university by the Vedanta Group in Puri,” Agarwal said.

“I understand that there is a PIL in the Supreme Court; we are going to file a review petition. However, I can say that we will not proceed with the varsity project till the masses support it,” he said.

Agarwal said the proposed varsity will also serve the needs of meritorious poor students, and give priority to women scholars.

“We have received proposals from about 12 states to set up the university. But, I have a dream to set it up in Odisha’s Puri district,” he said.