CHENNAI: The Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Anil Kakodkar, on Friday called for efforts to make India a land of opportunities rather than a land of ideas alone, by bringing together knowledge and application.

After inaugurating student facilities at the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) at Siruseri here, he said the country could not become a land of opportunities by defining a set of guidelines or rules. The CMI's role in offering undergraduate programmes in an environment where senior scientists and scholars undertaking research works was unique. The Department of Atomic Energy's support for the institute would continue. "We are duty-bound to provide support for good quality higher mathematical programmes," he said.

He also hailed the support extended by the public sector agencies and the private sector companies to the institute, which had been recognised as a University by the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the University Grants Commission Act in December 2006. Though sustaining and pursuing high-level research in pure mathematics was of great importance, steps must be taken to create an environment that would attract more people, especially the youth, to the institute, he said.

He stressed the need for peripheral activities around research programmes on pure mathematics so that mathematics could be used for various applications, besides meeting the interests of society. This would also result in easier flow of funds from the industries that were not so focussed on long-term programmes.

A large number of problems were waiting solutions, Dr. Kakodkar said. It was odd that at times, despite the availability of facilities, the country had to depend on outsiders to find solutions to such problems. "We must make our activities and programmes more comprehensive and robust so that we are not exposed to such dangers."

CMI Director C.S. Seshadri described the university status accorded to the institute as a milestone in its history.

R. Thyagarajan, chairman, Shriram Group Companies, said the university status would help the Institute adopt flexibility in offering different kinds of research programmes.

Sudeep Banerjee, Advisor, the Union Ministry of HRD, flayed attempts of persons who were not aware of the state of the higher education in India to advise on what kind of university system the country should adopt.

V. Narayanan, Director, Chennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation, inaugurated the library at the CMI. K. Madhava Sharma, trustee secretary of the CMI, spoke.

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