'Nurture young scientists'

Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice M N Venkatachalaiah said that in the knowledge society, education and learning are most vital for sustainability and continuity.

Delivering the 29th annual convocation of Mangalore University here on Saturday, he said: “We are now in middle-income emerging market economy.



To sustain it and to move upto the high income technology based export economy, we need to have 15 per cent of the population on the age group of 18 to 24 in the universities. The government must spend at least one per cent of its GDP on promotion of science and private industry led R and D must spend another one per cent of the GDP on the promotion of service.”

Respect teachers

Calling upon the universities to nurture and cherish young scientists at their creative best, he said that it can happen only if respect for scientific research and for the teacher is enormously enhanced in the society.

Justice Venkatachalaiah said 21st century will be the century for new biology, new medicine and of new technologies, which will change the face of everything under the sun. “Science and technology will forever change our views of the world we live in. The debate of mechanism and technology, religion and spirituality, intellect and intuition, body and mind is expanding. Psycho-neuro immunology has been unravelling some fascinating secrets on mind-body relationship,” he added.

Honorary awards

The Mangalore University conferred honorary doctorate on retired DGP Dr Ajai Kumar Singh (Literature and Administration), veteran Madhwa philosophy scholar Bannanje Govindacharya (Literature) and D K Chowta (Literature and Social Service) on the occasion. Governor H R Bharadwaj conferred the awards.

Speaking to presspersons after receiving the Honoris Causa, Dr Ajai Kumar Singh said that the honour is for the police department. Not many in the police department had the privilege of getting such an honour from an university. “It is an honour to receive this award,” he added.  

Earlier, in his welcome speech, Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy said that the department of Applied Botany of the university has been identified as ‘Centre of Excellence’ to carry out research on conservation and bio-prospecting of endemic and RET species by the Vision Groups on Science and Technology of Government of Karnataka.  The department of Physics has been sanctioned a sum of Rs 80 lakh under DST Fist programme.

Minister for Higher Education Dr V S Acharya, Registrar Prof K Chinnappa Gowda, Syndicate and Academic Council members were present.