Society for Promotion of Science & Technology in India (SPSTI) proposes to commemorate 75th year of Indian independence by initiating a new series of Expository Lectures on our institutions created, strengthened, nurtured and planned since Indian independence in 1947. It is often felt that our students especially at undergraduate level are not aware of the opportunities in research and development available to them in the years ahead. Such lectures would also serve towards fulfilling this dire need of awareness about our institutions and research laboratories. Eminent national icons, who have deep knowledge of their respective institutions, shall describe the progress made and articulate the challenges ahead. It is widely accepted that India has a rightful presence in twenty first century among the community of nations by virtue of deliverance by the national institutes and the national initiatives.

Partner Organizations

For popularization of activities covering a larger participation, we associate with Chandigarh Chapters of National Academy of Sciences India (NASI), Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS).

Association

Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University, Chandigarh) for supporting Webcast services

Support

Haryana State Council for Science, Innovation & Technology (HSCSIT), Department of Science & Technology, Government of Haryana for financially supporting this series of lectures.

S. No.	Proposed Date	Speaker	Title of Talk	Guest of Honour
1	05.09.2021	Prof. N. Sathyamurthy, founder Director, IISER Mohali	The Story of IISERs	Prof. Ajay K. Sood, FRS, Chairman, BOG, IISER Mohali & IISER Bhopal
2	16.10.2021	Prof. Furqan Qamar, first Vice Chancellor, Central University of Himachal Pradesh	Central Universities: Their conception and present status’	Shri Ashok Thakur, former Secretary, Education, Govt. of India
3	11.11.2021	Prof. Ved Prakash, Chairman UGC (2013-17)	UGC, NCERT & NEUPA	Dr. Jaspal S. Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, GNDU, Amritsar
4	20.11.2021	Prof. S.G. Dhande, Director IIT Kanpur (2001-12)	IIT Heritage of India	Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar
5	04.12.2021	Prof. K.K. Talwar, Director, PGIMER (2004-11)	AIIMS, PGIMER and Medical Education and Research in India	Prof. Yogesh K. Chawla, former Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh
6	22.12.2021	Prof. S.G. Dani, ex-Chairman, National Board for Higher Mathematics	NBHM and nurturing of mathematicians	Prof. I.B.S. Passi, Emeritus Professor, Panjab University, Chandigarh
7	15.01.2022	Prof. P. Balaram, Director, IISc. Bangalore (2005-2015)	The IISc. story since its inception	Prof. J. Gowrishankar, Director, IISER Mohali
8	05.02.2022	Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST (2005-15)	The Government initiatives in the new Millennium	Prof. K.N. Pathak, former Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh
9	21.02.2022	Dr. Girish Sahni, DG, CSIR (2015-18)	The CSIR system: An update	Prof. Sarit Das, former Director, IIT Ropar
10	28.02.2022	Dr. Manjit Singh, Director TBRL (2012-2020)	The DRDO system: An update	Dr. Satish Kumar, Director, NIT, Kurukshetra
11	19.03.2022	Prof. R. Nityananda, Director, NCRA, TIFR (2008-13)	The Astronomy Observatories in India	Prof. Arvind, Vice Chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala
12	02.04.2022	Prof. G.U. Kulkarni, President, JNCASR	The JNCASR: Its conception, present status and impact’
13	16.04.2022	Prof. B.S. Dhillon, Vice Chancellor, PAU, Ludhiana (2012-21)	ICAR, PAU and the Agriculture Research in India	Prof. Jai Rup Singh, founder Vice Chancellor, Central University of Punjab
14	07.05.2022	Prof. P.P. Majumdar, President, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (2019-21)	Indian Statistical Institute and the tradition of institution building in Kolkata	Prof. Ram Ramaswamy, former Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad
15	04.06.2022	Prof. A.K. Grover, VC, PU, Chandigarh (2012-18)	TIFR, TISS, TMH, IIPS and NCPA – the institutions nucleated by Tata Trusts in Mumbai	Prof. Anantha Ramakrishna, Director, CSIR-CSIO
16	09.07.2022	Prof. S.S. Mantha, Chairman (2009-15), AICTE	AICTE: Technical Education, Skill Development and Management Studies	Prof. Baldev Setia, Director, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
17	30.07.2022	Dr. R.B. Grover, Founder and first Vice Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute (2005-16), Mumbai	Atomic Energy Programme and HBNI	Dr. Rakesh Kapoor