NAGPUR: “This is not my first Indian Science Congress, but it is one of the better ones,” said Nobel Laureate Dr. Ada Yonath, at the valedictory session of the 108th Indian Science Congress here today.
The mega science and technology event was hosted by Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University in its centenary year. It was after 49 years that the university hosted the ISC which is the biggest science and technology event in the country. The meet was inaugurated by the prime minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, on January 3.
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Dr. Vijayalakshmi Bidar, Divisional Commissioner, Nagpur, was the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony. Also present on the dais were Vice Chancellor, Dr. Subhash Chaudhari, ISCA General President, Dr. Vijay Laxmi Saxena, President-elect Dr Arvind Saxena, Pro VC Dr. Sanjay Dudhe, ISCA General Secretaries, Dr. Anoop Kumar Jain and Dr. S. Ramakrishna, MD of MMAtiv, Mr. Ravi Boratkar, Registrar Dr. Raju Hiwase and 108th ISC Local Secretaries Dr. Rajesh Singh and Dr. Govardhan Khadekar, and the Nobel Laureate’s daughter, Dr. Hagitha Yonath.
In her speech at the ceremony, Dr. Yonath presented some salient features of her research. She congratulated the organizing university for the success of the Congress and thanked them for the hospitality. She reiterated her admiration for Indian scientists and researchers and shared fond memories of her association with some of them.
Speaking as the chief guest, Dr. Bidari also congratulated the vice chancellor and his team for the success of the event. “There were some important firsts in this ISC. The TribalsScience Congress was held for the first time, and the Science and Society event was held after 10 years. More than one lakh people visited the five-day event and more than 3,000 presented research papers,” she said.
In his welcome address, Vice Chancellor Dr. Chaudhariexpressed satisfaction over the successful completion of the 108th ISC. There were several challenges and constraints, he said. Where other hosts get one year to prepare, RTMNU got only four months. Further, the imposition of the election code of conduct threw up some organizational hurdles. However, the support of local leaders and officials helped overcome some of the issues, he said.
Mr. Ravi Boratkar, Managing Director of MMAtiv informed that his organization created the ISC venue over 30 thousand sq. mtrs. The Pride of India exhibition alone was spread over 9,000 mtrs. The main dome had the capacity to seat 7,500 people.
The Pride of India Science Expo, which included the Hall of Fame, Eduvision and Academia, R&D Institutions, DRDO stall, Host University and Host University expos, were the major attractions. He said, 200 organisations from all over India participated. Besides, visitors also thronged the Children’s Science Exhibition and the Archaeology exhibition.
Earlier, Local Secretary Dr. Govardhan Khadekar read out the conference report. The programme was conducted by Dr. Rita Wadetwar and Local Secretary Dr. Rajesh Singh proposed a vote of thanks.
There were a total of 16,143 registrations for the 108th ISC, including 7,667 ISCA registrations, 5,200 for the Women’s Science Congress, 2,216 for the Tribal Science Congress and 1,060 for the Farmer’s Science Congress. Further, there were around 500 spot registrations.
The 28 plenary sessions, which are considered the most important of the ISC, saw the participation of 32 foreign speakers. These sessions also featured 26 women speakers. The plenary sessions witnessed talks by eminent scientists, researchers and top technocrats, including the principal scientific advisor to the Prime Minister, Secretaries of several departments, chairmen and directors of leading organisations.
The 108th ISC Awards were also presented by the guests at the valedictory ceremony. They included nine gold medals, one gold-plated brass plaque, five silver-plated brass plaques for schoolchildren and two certificates. Ten Young Scientists awards and 10 Best Poster Awards were also given away.Besides, some awards were also given away on behalf of MMActive in 14 categories to Pride of India exhibitors.
