The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : `Ensure the fruits of development reached the poor'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

`Ensure the fruits of development reached the poor'

Special Correspondent

47th Institute Day Celebrations of the IIT-Madras

HONOURED: The recipients of the IIT Distinguished Alumnus Awards with M. S. Ananth, Director, IIT-Madras (third from left), at the 47th Institute Day celebrations of the IIT-Madras held in Chennai on Monday. — Photo: Shaju John

CHENNAI: Students of prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology can make a difference when it comes to ensuring that the fruits of development reached the `other India' that is steeped in poverty and ignorance, N.Murali, managing director, The Hindu, said here on Monday.

China and India were poised to emerge as global powerhouses in the 21st century and the challenge for leadership could be met through institutions such as the IIT, which attracted talented young people, he said during the 47th Institute Day Celebrations of the IIT-Madras.

The question that needed to be answered was how such institutions could serve the country's changing needs. The question of brain drain needed to be addressed too as the country was losing its brightest academic minds. However, the recent outsourcing boom had ensured that young people came back to the country.

Though the issue of reservations in IITs and Indian Institutes of Management had sparked off a controversy, admissions to such institutions should be only on the basis of entrance examinations and should be allowed to continue on the basis of merit alone, Mr.Murali said, adding that the IITs also had the responsibility of catering to the country's development.

The event was also an occasion to honour three of the institute's distinguished alumni: A.Jayakrishnan, head of the polymer chemistry division at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum; Krithivasan Ramamirtham, professor of computer science at IIT, Bombay and G.Sundararajan, director of the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad.

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