>>> Article in Times of India July 2022 on Higher Education in Central India

Prerna Tripathi, a native of UP, recently moved to Indore to get admission at a prestigious management institution in Indore, to pursue her MBA degree. “I selected this college because it enjoys a very good reputation among leading management colleges in India with a very enthusiastic placement record, “says Prerna. When asked why she chose to come to Indore, knowing well that her state had good academic institutions of repute, Prerna says, Indore, being the leading education hub of India, happens to be a perfect destination for study and quite safe for girls compared to many big and fast developing cities in India. Its salubrious climate, friendly people, and the kind of employment opportunities it offers make the city a heaven for young students.”

Vidhi Jain, who recently moved to Indore from Udaipur, is pursuing her engineering degree at a science and technology institute. She says, with a gleam of happiness on her face, “I selected this college in Indore not just for the quality of education, but also because it scores high on the employability index, and to top it all off, my fascination forth is cleanest city in India and its growing stature as an IT hub in central India spurred me to come to Indore.”

Neel Chakravorty, who did his Master’s from a city-based institute, and is currently doing his PhD from Patna, says every year hundreds of students from various towns of Bihar and Jharkhand migrate to Indore to pursue higher studies, not only because of the quality of higher education but also due to the kind of academic ambience Indore provides for higher learning. Indore is way better in terms of quality of life than Patna.

In terms of the roads, public transport system, food, safety and security, and employment opportunities, Indore is way ahead of Patna,” he says.

These are not isolated cases; thousands of students from all over the country are hopping to Indore to pursue higher studies in various streams. For a large majority of students, the presence of India’s premier management and engineering institutions like IIM and IIT is the reason why Indore has become a melting pot for students to pursue studies here. With leading institutions like IIT Indore, IIM Indore, and hosts of other technical and management institutes, Indore has become a breeding ground of talent.

A decade back Nagpur, Pune, and Kota happened to be hot destinations for youngsters from across the country to pursue higher education. But in the past few years, Indore has over taken many cities which hitherto dominated the higher education sector. The presence of world-class institutions with highly talented faculties, state-of-the-art infrastructure, affordable fee structure, scope of the best placement opportunities and abundance of all kinds of industries in and around Indore is drawing talents from across India to Indore, says a senior faculty member of IIM ahead of Indore.

Unlike in many cities, the quality of faculty in Indore is far better. The majority of institutions in the city have tie-ups with foreign universities, and they collaborate with each other to adopt best teaching practices. premier Many institutes in Indore offer opportunities to their students to do one or two semesters at foreign premier engineering, universities and engage in research work there. All this helps sharpen the academic skills of students and make them employable.

The assurance of best teaching, best faculties, and best placement opportunities are key drivers which have catapulted Indore to become the most favoured city for students for higher learning.

Access to talent, a good startup ecosystem, and the presence of venture capitalists and other financial institutions have made y talent- the best Indore truly one of the most favoured cities Compared to for IT industries and startups.

The crown of cleanest city in India, which Indore has been awarded for the fifth time in a row, and the city’s being adjudged. as the Best Smart City in the country, along with Surat, has spurred growth in IT and industrial sectors in Indore, making Indore a perfect choice for young talents to pursue higher studies.

“In the past few years, the growing infrastructure, increased internet penetration. low-cost living, and pool of young talented technocrats have brought about a paradigm shift in IT and other industries in India. Comparatively better infrastructure and easy availability of talents have driven IT industries’ big and small guns to set up their bases in Indore. This has all contributed to an influx of students from various parts of India as they feel that after graduating and completing their higher studies, it would not be difficult for them to get jobs here because of the abundance of industries in and around Indore,” says a senior academician of Indore.

Indore, the largest city and the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh, in the past few years has emerged as one of the top eight two tier cities in the country in terms of IT industries and startups. If we take a look at the factors contributing to Indore’s emergence as one of the top destinations for IT industries and startups in Central India, there are multiple factors which have led to the IT boom in Indore. Its robust infrastructure, availability of world-class management and technical institutions like the IIM and IIT, centralised location, salubrious climate, smooth air, rail and road connectivity with many big and small cities in the country, and availability of world-class research centres like the Dr. Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology are among key drivers for the boom in the IT sector and startup culture in Indore.

Compared to metro and top tier one and tier two cities in India, Indore has a distinct edge over many cities in terms of its civic infrastructure, centralised location, cleanliness, and cosmopolitan culture.

One of the advantages of Indore has been its diverse character. Even though the city has an ample population of Gujaratis, Marathis, Rajasthanis, North Indians, Pun jabis, Sindhis, South Indians, and people IT in- from almost every part of India, this city doesn’t have any cultural influence. This is the reason why the city educational hub and IT capital of central India.

Compared to other education and living in Indore is lower, and this is one of the major factors that

prompt students from across India to choose Indore for pursuing higher education.

With sustained efforts from the government as well as individual efforts from private companies, Indore promises a bright future for the IT industry in India. If Central India can be presumed as the

United States, Indore will certainly qualify to become its Silicon Valley. IT majors Like TISCO, Infosys, Amazon, Cognizant Tech nology Solutions, SystematixInfotech, CIS, Hiteshi Technologies, Info Beans, Qual webs, Synsoft Global, IBMImpetus Tech nologies, 47 Billion, Codezilla, Gammas tack, Techinfini, Yash Technologies, Pixel wala, and Noob Games have already made their foothold in the city, and there is a long queue of other IT companies which are all set to make their presence in Indore.