In its 90th year, TISS to unveil two missions to strengthen India, global presence
Mumbai (PTI): The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on Friday said it is planning to start academic expansion through two missions to strengthen its global as well as domestic presence.
On global front, the deemed to be university and grant-in aid institute under the education ministry is looking to collaborate for joint research with universities in western countries and also become a global hub for rural innovations.
"We are going to start Mission Bharat and Mission Global as part of TISS Navati. This will be part of TISS 90-year celebrations in February 2026," Vice-Chancellor Badri Narayan Tiwari told reporters.
TISS is completing 90 years in 2026, and these initiatives will be part of the institute's decade-long preparation for centenary celebrations, he noted.
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As part of Mission Bharat, TISS is planning to create awareness among students about the institute and opportunities it presents in states from where student intake is less, Tiwari said.
"Our focus will be in the northeast, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhy Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, among others. For this we are going to form a strategy and our professors will visit colleges in these areas, especially in marginalised areas, and present all aspects of the institute. Through this, we want to project that TISS is for everyone and not just for the elite," the VC stated.
Under Mission Bharat, TISS will also focus on skilling.
"We are also expanding our skill education network, which is already operational in 67 locations globally. On this, we will not only work in India but also in countries where there are skill gaps like in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America," he informed.
Tiwari stated that the prestigious institute is planning academic expansion covering a range of courses, including under-graduate, post-graduate and executive PhD programmes.
Under Mission Global, TISS will collaborate for joint research with universities in western countries.
"Besides collaboration, we also looking at expanding our dual degree programme, which we currently have with four universities," the VC noted.
TISS is also looking at becoming a global rural innovation hub as part of Mission Global, he said.
"Under this, we will record rural and grassroots innovations and present them to global audience. For this, our Tuljapur campus in Maharashtra (Dharashiv district) will be the hub. Similarly, we will extend the same in countries in Africa and Southeast Asia, among others," Tiwari maintained.
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SIR in Bengal: Bhabanipur records nearly 4 times more voter deletions than Nandigram, EC data shows
Kolkata (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur constituency has recorded nearly four times more deletions from electoral rolls as against opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari’s Nandigram, according to constituency-wise data released by the Election Commission on Friday that highlighted significant variations across West Bengal.
According to a poll panel official, Bhabanipur (Kolkata), which had 1,61,509 voters in the rolls published in January 2025, saw 44,787 names removed in the latest revision, while Nandigram (Purba Medinipur district), with 2,78,212 voters, reported 10,599 deletions.
The commission has classified the deletions under standard categories such as deaths, relocation, and duplication of entries.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, Banerjee lost Nandigram to her one-time party colleague and protege Adhikari, who moved to the BJP just weeks before the election, by a margin of 1,956 votes.
Bhabanipur is not the constituency with the highest number of deletions, the official said.
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Kolkata Port, represented by senior minister and Mayor Firhad Hakim, has recorded 63,730 deletions, the highest in the state.
Tollygunge, held by minister Aroop Biswas, has seen 35,309 deletions, he added.
In constituencies held by key BJP legislators, the deletion numbers are higher than Nandigram but lower than Kolkata Port, he said.
"Asansol South, represented by Agnimitra Paul, has seen 39,202 deletions, while Shankar Ghosh's Siliguri constituency has reported 31,181 deletions," the official said.
According to district-wise data, South 24 Parganas has recorded the highest volume of deletions at 8,16,047.
Incidentally, the district is considered a stronghold of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, who secured a victory margin of over seven lakh votes in the last Lok Sabha election.
Among the state's 294 Assembly segments, the highest constituency-level deletions occurred in Chowringhee in North Kolkata, represented by Trinamool MLA Nayana Bandyopadhyay.
The constituency has seen 74,553 names removed. The lowest deletions were reported from Kotulpur in Bankura district, where 5,678 names have been removed.
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Overall, more than 58 lakh names have been deleted in the first phase of the SIR process. The Election Commission is scheduled to publish the draft electoral rolls on Tuesday.
