M A I N   N E W S

Now, university chairs in Nobel laureates’ name
Aditi Tandon/TNS

“In principle approval has been granted to the scheme. It will be cleared formally in the next Full Commission meeting of the UGC. It’s a unique scheme which seeks to inspire the youth to take up research under the guidance of the best minds in the world,” Prof Ved Prakash, UGC Chairperson told The Tribune today.

The Government has decided that chairs will be set up in the name of all India-born Nobel Laureates, including those who later gave up their Indian citizenship to settle abroad. The following fall in this category — Dr Hargobind Singh Khorana, awarded the Nobel for his study of the human genetic code and the role it plays in protein synthesis; Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar, an India-born expert in astrophysics, and stellar dynamics and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, awarded the Nobel for chemistry.

Seven chairs will be instituted after the seven Nobel Laureates from India, namely Rabindra Nath Tagore (literature), Dr CV Raman (physics), Dr Hargobind Khorana (medicine); Mother Teresa (peace), Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar (physics); Amartya Sen (economics) and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (chemistry). The idea behind the project is to get the best academics from the world to head these chairs in the respective disciplines which the seven India-born Nobel Award winners represented. The UGC will make departure to ensure they can get the best to head these chairs. For instance, the chairs will be open to the academics of all nationalities. The selection of the chair head will be by invitation of the Government through the UGC and not by nomination as is the usual practice in India.