<p>Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Saturday congratulated scientist C.N.R. Rao for becoming the latest recipient of the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Both (batting maestro) Sachin Tendulkar and Rao are truly Bharat Ratnas. It is an award for our state as well as the country," Siddaramaiah said in a statement here.<br /><br />He said Rao and Tendulkar richly deserved the country's highest civilian award.<br /><br />As an expert in chemistry, Rao has got more doctorates than any Indian scientist, he said.<br /><br />"It is a proud moment for all of us, as Rao is the third Kannadiga to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna by the central government," Siddaramaiah said.<br /><br />The other two Kannadigas awarded with the Bharat Ratna were M. Visveshwaraiah in 1955 and Hindustani vocalist maestro Bhimsen Joshi in 2008.<br /><br />Rao is also the third Indian scientist to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna after Nobel Laureate C.V. Raman in 1954 and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 1997.<br /><br />Meanwhile, celebrations broke out in the premier Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the city centre as news broke out that Rao has been conferred with the highest award.<br /><br />"It's a great honour for Dr. Rao and our institute, as he was our director for over a decade and has been exhorting us to devote more time and energy in pure science and its research," said N. Balakrishnan, a professor at IISc.<br /><br />India's space agency's former chairman U.R. Rao said it was a proud moment for Indian science and a great recognition for the amount of research C.N.R. Rao did in chemistry.<br /><br />"It is a well-deserving award for Rao, who did a lot of work in basic science, especially in chemistry and published over 1,500 research papers in the subject," Rao added.<br /></p>
<p>Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Saturday congratulated scientist C.N.R. Rao for becoming the latest recipient of the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"Both (batting maestro) Sachin Tendulkar and Rao are truly Bharat Ratnas. It is an award for our state as well as the country," Siddaramaiah said in a statement here.<br /><br />He said Rao and Tendulkar richly deserved the country's highest civilian award.<br /><br />As an expert in chemistry, Rao has got more doctorates than any Indian scientist, he said.<br /><br />"It is a proud moment for all of us, as Rao is the third Kannadiga to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna by the central government," Siddaramaiah said.<br /><br />The other two Kannadigas awarded with the Bharat Ratna were M. Visveshwaraiah in 1955 and Hindustani vocalist maestro Bhimsen Joshi in 2008.<br /><br />Rao is also the third Indian scientist to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna after Nobel Laureate C.V. Raman in 1954 and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 1997.<br /><br />Meanwhile, celebrations broke out in the premier Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the city centre as news broke out that Rao has been conferred with the highest award.<br /><br />"It's a great honour for Dr. Rao and our institute, as he was our director for over a decade and has been exhorting us to devote more time and energy in pure science and its research," said N. Balakrishnan, a professor at IISc.<br /><br />India's space agency's former chairman U.R. Rao said it was a proud moment for Indian science and a great recognition for the amount of research C.N.R. Rao did in chemistry.<br /><br />"It is a well-deserving award for Rao, who did a lot of work in basic science, especially in chemistry and published over 1,500 research papers in the subject," Rao added.<br /></p>