More students should take up pure sciences, says Acharya

Delivering the inaugural speech, he said there was an urgent need to increase the number of students in basic sciences. “We need more students in pure sciences. Else our education system will be like a building with a weak foundation,” he said.

On research, Acharya said there was little original and cutting edge research done in the country. “We have become very good at copying, even in research. We need to provide some incentives to colleges and universities to get involved in research in a big way,” he added.

The minister also spoke about his love for science and in particular electricity. “My first love is medicine. But when I was young, I was fascinated by the idea of electricity,” he added.