ISM - The First Mining College of Asia

Source: Shiksha

History

Established by the British Indian Government on the lines of the Royal School of Mines, the Indian School of Mines (ISM) is the oldest mining college in Asia and the third oldest college in India to be converted into an IIT. It was formally inaugurated on 9th December 1926 by the then Viceroy Lord Irwin. 

Location 

It is located in the Black Diamond city of India called Dhanbad. The main campus extends up to 218 acres in the Sardar Patel Nagar area of Dhanbad and recently Jharkhand Cabinet approved 226.98 acres of land in Nisra for its second campus. The total campus area is 448 acres which include teachers' and staff residences. With an academic staff of 332 acres, it nurtures a total of 8101 students every year.

Conversion into an IIT

On 25th May 2016, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi gave its approval to amend The Institutes of Technology Act 1961 for the conversion of ISM Dhanbad into an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). 

Famous Departments

This college is famous for Applied Geology and Mining Engineering. Now it has 18 academic departments. The famous ones are Computer Science, Electronics, Mathematics and Computing etc. This college offers a lot of research programs.

A Huge Milestone

A four-member team from the institute successfully discovered a 30 million ton manganese ore deposit worth 36000 crores INR, winning them a mention from the then Union human resources and development minister Shri Prakash Javadekar in 2017. The research in Seismology and Elastodynamics from this institute is popular worldwide.

Campus Life

The lush and green campus of IIT(ISM) Dhanbad is full of flora and fauna. ISM houses a different variety of birds. The famous gardens include the Oval Gardens, Eco Vatika, Rock Garden, Ruby park and many more. The hotspots include the Ram Dhani tea stall, Main Canteen, Barista, and central library. The hostels of IIT Dhanbad are unique in their naming. Each hostel is named after a gemstone. The famous hostels include Jasper, Emerald, Topaz, sapphire, Aquamarine, Rosaline, Ruby etc.

The Institute is beautifully structured and well-maintained and is in an eye-catching location in Dhanbad. Every year, the institute witness cutthroat competition for admission into this precious gem of India.

Written by- Sanchit Das

Edited by- Nidhi Jha