Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 105th Indian Science Congress at Manipur University. He began his inaugural address by paying tributes to three very distinguished Indian scientists whom we lost in recent times – Padma Vibhushan Prof Yashpal, Padma Vibhushan Prof UR Rao and Padma Shri Dr Baldev Raj. They all made outstanding contributions to Indian science and education.
The Prime Minister said let us also join the world to mourn the death of one of the greatest physicists of our time, Stephen Hawking – one of the brightest stars of modern cosmology. He was a friend of India and had visited our country twice. The common man knows Hawking's name, not because of his work on black holes, but because of his unusually high commitment and spirit against all odds. He will be remembered as one of the world’s greatest motivators of all time, he added.
"Happy to be here in Imphal today, on the occasion of the one hundred and fifth session of the Indian Science Congress and delighted to be among scientists, whose work paves the way for a better tomorrow. The University is emerging as an important center of higher education in the North-East. This is just the second time in over a century that the Indian Science Congress is being held in the North-East. This is a testimony to the resurgent spirit of the North East.
"It bodes well for the future. Science has been synonymous with progress and prosperity from time immemorial. As the best scientific minds of our nation, all of you gathered here today are power-houses of knowledge, innovation and enterprise, and are best equipped to drive this change", he added.
The five day-long mega event will conclude on the 20th of this month.
