NISER Bhubaneswar, India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 31 : Amidst reports that Kerala is likely to lose the Centre's prestigious IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) to neighbouring states, the Kerala government has announced that the proposed institute will start functioning in Kerala from this year itself.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has specifically assured as much, Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan told reporters after returning from the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi. Land for IISER has been identified and earmarked in Vithura, near Thiruvananthapuram.

Union human resource minister Arjun Singh also supported expediating the institute," Achuthanandan said.

The IISERs are conceived as national centres of excellence on the model of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. They are envisaged to integrate undergraduate and postgraduate science education as well as higher research under one roof.

In addition, ISRO will set up India's first Institute of Space Technology (IIST) in Thiruvananthapuram this year itself. "The Prime Minister has promised to give me a date on the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for the space institute,'' the chief minister told reporters, after a meeting of the state Cabinet here.

The Kerala Cabinet, which met on Thursday, also decided to develop Azhiekal and Beypore ports under PPP (Public Private Participation) model.