Expand HR pool in science, technology: PM

HYDERABAD, INDIA: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday called for expanding the human resource pool in science and technology and creating a stimulating institutional environment.

Singh laid the foundation stone for the Hyderabad campus of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at the centrally-run University of Hyderabad.

"We need to expand human resource pool in the area of science and technology to maintain our competitive advantage in the knowledge economy that is now on the horizon in the world," Singh said.

"Innovation and knowledge will be key factor in a nation's development in this 21st century. We must therefore (create) an environment that promotes and nurtures scientific achievements and makes us a world leader in creating intellectual property," he said.

The ceremony passed off without any untoward incidents as tight security arrangements were made in view of protests by a section of students and faculty of the university over allotment of university land to TIFR.

The institute is coming up on 209 acres allotted by the state government. TIFR plans to set up various research and academic facilities at the Hyderabad campus with an investment of about Rs.2,500 crore over a decade.

According to TIFR officials, the Hyderabad campus will have world-class labs and facilities to put India in the forefront of research in the emerging areas of science. It plans to accommodate 200 permanent faculty, 1,000 students and 300 post-doctoral researchers.

Recalling that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation stone for TFIR at Mumbai 56 years ago, Singh noted that from modest beginnings TIFR has emerged as a great centre of research and learning of international repute.

He said the institute was closely associated with many of the advances the country has made in the frontier fields of scientific research.

"From its origin in nuclear science and mathematics, TIFR's activities now encompass all branches of natural sciences, mathematics, computer science and science education," he said.