Rs 100-cr gift for IISc on Science Day

Rs 100-cr gift for IISc on Science Day

Institute Director Prof Goverdhan Mehta says he is delighted at the financial grant which comes as a pleasant surprise.
Deccan Herald

Science Day could not have had a more appropriate gift in store for the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here on Monday.

The gift came by way of a Rs 100 crore bonanza, announced by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram during his budget speech, to upgrade the institute on par with world class universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

“It came as a pleasant surprise. We had not submitted any proposal to the Centre. We were not expecting it,” a delighted IISc Director Prof Goverdhan Mehta told Deccan Herald. But what does this spell for IISc? Prof Mehta says he is yet to receive specific details from the Centre. “In many ways we are already a world class institute. But in many areas we are lacking. The challenge before us is to strive to become world class in all spheres of activities. The flexibility of additional grants will augment existing facilities,” he says.

“We are thankful to the government for reposing confidence in us and the fact that the government has recognised the uniqueness of the institute and its contribution to science spanning decades,” he adds.

The announcement of the perk could not have come at a more apt time with the institute celebrating Science Day.

As the news trickled in on Monday afternoon there was considerable excitement among teachers and students in the campus.

Lunch time, in fact, became celebration time. The institute’s present annual grants is Rs 80 crore of which Rs 50 crore goes for non-plan expenditure.

“In addition to financial resources we need people, commitment, students, and we need ideas. At IISc we are driven by ideas all the time,” Prof Mehta said.

Established in 1909 as an autonomous institution, IISc has today grown to become one of the leading science research and development centre in the world. The 443 acre campus today has 46 departments.

Physics department is one of the oldest departments of the institute and has made many significant contributions thanks primarily to certain luminary personalities associated with the department like Sir C V Raman, H J Bhabha, Vikram S Sarabhai, J C Ghosh, and scores of others who have played a key role in the scientific and technological progress of the country.

Prof Ajay K Sood, the present chairman of the Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, feels the grants would help IISc to the climb another level in academic excellence.

Prof N Balakrishnan, chairman, division of information sciences, said the recognition and the grant would help in rejuvenating existing facilities at the campus.