Stress on science research in 11th plan: Arjun

Bhopal, Oct 8(UNI) Stressing the need for giving a momentum for scientific research in the country, Union Minister for Human Resources Development Arjun Singh today said a provision of Rs 84,000 crore was made in the eleventh Five Year Plan for human resources development.

Students were being motivated to carry out more research activities in science, which had assumed the status of a world language, Mr Singh said at a function at Bhounri village near here to mark the foundation stone laying of two premier scientific institutes.

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research and the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) were being set up at Bhopal at a cost of more than Rs 500 crore, Mr Singh said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was scheduled to be chief guest at the function, did not turn up because of his preoccupation with ''necessary meetings'', he said, adding the Prime Minister had immensely supported human resources development programmes in a big way in the last five years.

IISER-Bhopal is one among five such institutes being established by the Government of India. Other institutes are located at Pune, Kolkata, Mohali and Thiruvananthapuram. Bhopal's SPA is the second such institute after Delhi in the country.

Architecture and planning are inter-linked to carry out urban development at the right perspective, he said.

A unique institute- Indira Gandhi National Tribal University- had started functioning with its headquarters at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and its campus would be started in tribal-dominated areas in different states, the HRD minister said, adding 150 students had already been enrolled in it.

Claiming that he was contributing his might in ensuring the state's development, he said the union cabinet had given its approval for granting Central University status to Dr Hari Singh Gaur University at Sagar. Indore is the only city in the country having both Indian Institute of Management and Indian Institute of Technology.

The Centre was giving equal importance for primary education as also higher education to strike a balance. Madhya Pradesh was also being allocated sufficient funds for promoting education and it was hoped that the funds would be suitably used, he added.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan presided over the function.

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