The Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Arjun Singh has said the strengthening of research in universities and institutions of higher education has assumed greater importance in the knowledge based society and economy and one has to ensure that in the pursuit of research,  creativity should not be jeopardized.  He was speaking at the UGC Awards Function here today.  Shri Singh said, sub-standard and low quality research should not be allowed at any cost and every effort should be made to highlight the quality research work of many Indian Universities located in geographically remote areas.

The Minister said the Task Force on rejuvenation of scientific research in universities set up by his Ministry has come out with nine recommendations which include among othersneed to create around 1000 positions of Research Scientists at various level equivalent to that of Lecturer, Reader and Professor.  The Task Force has also set up a target of doubling the number of Ph.D.s coming out of India in a span of ten years.  It has suggested formal linkage between the Universities and National Level Institutions including CSIR laboratories to be promoted through joint research projects and training. The Task Force also recommended that women participation in basic science research should be enhanced by way of removing age bar and introducing flexi-time approach.  Shri Arjun Singh said based on the recommendations of Task Force, UGC has increased the scholarship for Ph.D. students,  Post-Doctoral students and Research Associates in sciences and social sciences.  A Plan Budget Allocation of Rs.60 crores has been made by UGC for the year 2006-07, he added.

 University Grant Commission has instituted three awards namely – the  Hari Om Ashram Trust National Award, Swami Pranavananda Saraswati National Award and the Veda Vyas National Sanskrit Award to acknowledge the noteworthy contributions made by eminent academicians in the fields of Sciences, Social Sciences and Sanskrit respectively.

The Hari Om Ashram Awards were instituted by UGC in 1974 and carries Rs.50,000/- and a Citation. These awards for 2004 were given to 8 scientists under five categories.

• Sir C.V. Raman Award for Research in Physical Sciences to Prof. D.D. Sarma, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore;
• Homi J. Bhabha Award for Applied Sciences was given jointly to Prof. N. Balakrishnan, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & Dr. Sankar Kumar Nath, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur;
• Meghanand Saha Award in Theoretical Sciences was awarded jointly to Prof. Rahul Pandit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore & Dr. Maithili Sharan, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi;
• Jagdish Chandra Bose Award for Life Sciences was given jointly to Dr. Vinod Kochupillai, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and  Prof. M.R.N. Murthy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• The Award for  Outstanding Social Scientists/Scientists for Interaction between Science and Society was given to Prof. Ajit Kembhavi, Inter University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune.

            The Swami Pranavananda Saraswati National Awards were started by UGC in 1985, for outstanding scholarly/scientific work which has made important contributions to human knowledge and has thrown light on the issues related to the fields of education, economics, environmental science & ecology, political science & sociology. The Award carries Rs.50,000/- and a Citation.  These awards for 2004 were given to Prof. M. Anandakrishnan & Prof Amrik Singh for Education; Dr. Vishwanath Pandit, Anantapur & Dr. Dilip M. Nachane, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai for Economics; Dr. R. Sukumar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore for Environmental Science & Ecology; Dr. C.A. Perumal, University of Madras,  Chennai  for Political Science and Prof. Anand Chakrawarti, Delhi School of Economics & Dr. K. Seshadri  for Sociology. Dr K Seshadri was conferred the Award posthumously.

The Minister also presented the UGC’s Veda Vyas National Sanskrit Award to Dr. (Mrs.) Kamal Anand, Honorary Prof. (Sanskrit Literature) Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute, Hoshiarpur, Punjab; and Principal, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi. Veda Vyas Award consists of Rs. One lakh and a citation.

HB/AD/SK