The second edition of ‘Anokha 2011,' a national-level technical festival organised by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at Ettimadai here, got off to a colourful start in the presence of captains of the industry, eminent members of the academia and a few thousand-strong student crowd on Tuesday.
Engineering talent from various parts of the country and abroad have converged on the university to take part in the three-day fete that consists of 40 technical events, 10 workshops and many others activities that will test the skills of the students. The festival has received 7,000 entries from 330 institutions.
The message the participants received from the experts at the inauguration was to make the best use of the forum to get to know the latest in engineering and technology.
Inaugurating the festival with the theme “National Security and Sustainable Development,” the former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G. Madhavan Nair, urged the budding engineers to use their knowledge effectively to provide solutions to the myriad problems faced by Indians in the rural areas and more than 30 per cent of the population living below the poverty line.
“The country had scientific temper since Indus Valley civilisation. There have been theories formulated in that era even without the help of instruments to do research, collect data and make inferences. But from 600 AD till Independence we remained an oppressed lot and hence, scientific creativity suffered immensely. Post-Independence, we have really blossomed,” Mr. Nair said.
Citing the Green Revolution, the White Revolution, achievements in space technology and development of the Light Combat Aircraft, Mr. Nair said that India had achieved much in these 63 years and become a self-reliant nation.
“Developed countries have invested in science and technology for the past 200 years. This has helped them make great achievements. In the last 60 years, we have been able to attain 70 per cent of their feat,” he added.
Mr. Nair asserted that only continued investments in science and technology could make India achieve more.
Pro-Chancellor of the University Abhayamrita Chaitanya said a society without pride in its past could not look forward to a great future.
“Even in the late 18th Century, India contributed to more than 30 per cent of the GDP of the world. China's was nearly 25 per cent. Together we made up for almost 60 per cent of the world's GDP. But today, a considerable population is below the poverty line. Prosperity and development should be combined with providing for the poor,” he said.
Vice-Chancellor P. Venkat Rangan said the Indian Space Research Organisation's satellite helped connect various campuses of Amrita.
Vijay Ratna Parche, Managing Director, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, said there was a tendency among youth not to apply knowledge. Once they started applying it, they would start creating and innovating.
Madhusudan V. Atre, President and Managing Director, Applied Materials India; M.P. Chandrasekaran, Dean-Engineering, Amrita; Gurumurthy Kalyanaraman, Dean-Management, Amrita; and Prashant R. Nair, Convener of Anokha 2011, spoke.
Mr. Nair launched www.amritaraksha.com, a cyber security website that included various facets like cryptanalysis, cryptography and protocols.
The Hindu is the media partner for the festival.
Published - February 09, 2011 01:58 am IST
