This Article is From Nov 06, 2020

Centre of Excellence For Indian Knowledge System At IIT Kharagpur; Announces Education Minister

The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) will set up a Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge System, announced the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' while inaugurating the three-day international webinar -- Bharata Tirtha -- at IIT Kharagpur.

Centre of Excellence For Indian Knowledge System At IIT Kharagpur; Announces Education Minister

IIT Kharagpur To Set Up Centre For Indian Knowledge System

The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) will set up a Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge System. While inaugurating the three-day international webinar -- Bharata Tirtha -- at IIT Kharagpur, the Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' announced this development. The web-seminar Bharata Tirtha started today and will continue till November 8, 2020.

The three-day webinar, as per a Government statement, will witness talks by international stalwarts pioneering in Indic studies including Arthashastra (Economics), Sanskrit for Natural Language Processing, Vedic and Ancient Indian Mathematics - Numeral System, Bijaganita and Jyamiti, Rasayana (Chemical Sciences), Ayurveda (Biological Sciences), Jyotir-tatha Mahajagatika Vidya (Positional and Astronomical Sciences), Prakriti Vidya (Terrestrial/ Material Sciences/ Ecology and Atmospheric Sciences) and Nandana Tathya tatha Vastu Vidya (Archaeology, Iconography and Architecture).

Mr Pokhriyal while inaugurating the webinar said: “IIT Kharagpur has attempted to introspect on the spirit of India, her challenges in the present times and taken the right measures through an initiative like Bharata Tirtha and research.” The Minister also emphasized on education through mother tongue along with rejuvenation of Sanskrit to ease the educational process for the diverse people of India and draw from the rich educational heritage of India.

The organising members of the three day international webinar at IIT Kharagpur include Professor Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur (chief patron), Professor SK Bhattacharya, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur (patron), Professor Somesh Kumar, Dean of Students' Affairs, IIT Kharagpur (chairman), Professor Joy Sen, Department of Architecture and Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur (organizing secretary), Professor Anuradha Choudry, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur (joint secretary).

Apart from the Union Education Minister, Minister of Education for States Sanjay Dhotre was present at the occasion as Guest of Honour. Mr Dhotre opined on the need to critically study and analyze the interdisciplinary nature Indian Knowledge System in the present times. Professor Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE and Professor Shishir K Dube, Former Director, IIT Kharagpur will be the panelists for the session on ‘Way Forward for IITs in Indian Knowledge Systems'. They will be joined by faculty experts from various disciplines at IIT Kharagpur.

“Spectacular achievements of the past can inspire us but cannot sustain us in the present. It is our responsibility to equip the Indian Knowledge System with Indian ethos and values and attempt a pursuit of excellence in every chosen field,” Mr Dhotre said.

Professor Virendra K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, expressed the need to acknowledge and incentivize research work on Indian Scientific Heritage by awarding the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. “SS Bhatnagar Prize is a dream goal for science and technology researchers in India. I would like to request the Union Education Minister to contemplate on proposing to the Union Minister for Science and Technology to create a new vertical on Indian scientific heritage under this prestigious Prize,” he said.

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