98TH INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS IN CHENNAI
Posted on: 05/Oct/2010 1:57:01 AM
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to the 98th annual Indian Science Congress, to be held in Chennai from January 3 to 7 next year. Chennai last hosted the Congress in 1999. The five-day event will be hosted by at SRM University, Kattankulathur. Around 7,000 delegates from India and different parts of the world will participate. It is estimated to cost Rs.12 crore. This was informed to the press by
K.C. Pandey General President, Indian Science Congress Association, at SRM University on Monday.
The aim of the congress is ‘Quality education and excellence in scientific research in Indian universities`.
P. Sathyanarayanan, Vice-Chancellor, SRM University, said five Nobel Laureates – Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, Ada E. Yonath, who shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009, Martin Chalfie (Chemistry, 2008) and Tim Hunt (Medicine 2001), had confirmed their participation. Some more were expected.
In the 1960s, there were little facilities and resources, but we were at the top. There had been a tremendous improvement on these two aspects, but overall, there has been a decline in quality of education, therefore the theme ,said Mr. Pandey, who teaches at the Department of Zoology, Lucknow University.
On the choice of Chennai as the venue for the Congress, he said it was a “marvelous city,” known for its hospitality and culture. “When SRM University submitted its proposal to be the host, we set up a research committee and it gave its approval,” Mr. Pandey said.
Chennai hosted the second Indian Congress in 1915. The theme was “Importance of knowledge of Biology for medical, sanitary and scientific men working in the tropics.”
