20th Atma Ram Memorial Lecture delivered by Dr N. Kalaiselvi

 The One Week One Lab programme of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), Kolkata concluded with the 73rd Institute Foundation Day celebration on 26.08.2023. This occasion was marked with the 20th Atma Ram Memorial Lecture delivered by Dr (Mrs) N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary DSIR and Director General, CSIR, who was the Chief Guest. She spoke on “SDGs and S&T Opportunities”, wherein she touched upon the alignment of CSIR themes with the SDGs vis-a-vis national mission programmes; the challenges in their implementation and the road ahead for achieving the same. The programme was also associated with felicitating institute staff members / divisions for their performance. Dr S.K. Mishra, Director CSIR-CGCRI welcomed the participants while Dr Debashis Bhattacharjee, Vice President (Technology and R&D) of Tata Steel was present as Guest of Honour besides other dignitaries. Dr Kalaiselvi also opened the Atma Ram Memorial Museum & Archives to public. The museum envisages tracing the technological evolution of ceramics from historic period; and the journey of CSIR and CSIR-CGCRI since inception.

Legends to photos (clockwise from left): lighting of the lamp during invocation; Dr Kalaiselvi delivering the Atma Ram Memorial Lecture; audience during the lecture; and opening the Atma Ram Memorial Museum & Archives to public by DG, CSIR.  

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LT GEN PS BHAGAT MEMORIAL LECTURE” ORGANISED BY THE INDIAN ARMY AT MANEKSHAW CENTRE

 The Indian Army has organised the first “Lieutenant General P S Bhagat Memorial Lecture” on “Legacy of Lt Gen Prem Bhagat- A Visionary and Strategic Leader”, under the aegis of United Service Institution of India (USI) at Manekshaw Centre on 14 June 2023. The lecture was conducted as part of “Lt Gen PS Bhagat Memorial Chair of Excellence instituted at USI, by General Manoj Pande, COAS on 14 October 2022.

General VP Malik (Retd), Former Army Chief delivered a keynote address during the lecture, in which he gave many anecdotes from the legacy of Lt Gen Bhagat from his early days as a Second Lieutenant to till his demise while working as Chairman of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

General Manoj Pande, the Chief of the Army Staff, Former Chiefs General VN Sharma (Retd) and General M M Naravane (Retd) attended the event along with senior veterans and serving officers and civilians to draw inspiration from the legacy of Lt Gen Bhagat, whose charisma has left an indelible mark on the history of the Indian Army.

Speaking on the occasion, the Army Chief mentioned that “Late Lt Gen PS Bhagat who served as the first General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the re-raised Northern Command was an outstanding professional and a prolific writer”. The Army Chief recounted that “as a young second lieutenant, Lt Gen Bhagat was the first Indian soldier to have been awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross in World War II, while clearing minefields, under enemy fire, with his vehicle encountering a mine explosion thrice, sustaining an ear drum puncture, yet going about his task relentlessly for 96 hours, without break.” He also fondly mentioned the tale in which Lt Gen Bhagat as Army Commander at Lucknow in September 1971, saved the Lucknow city by pushing the trucks loaded with stones and boulders to plug the flow

through the breach on the Gomti River, for which local newspapers captioned him as “the saviour of Lucknow”, in next day’s headlines.

The next edition of memorial lecture is scheduled to be conducted in April 2024, in which Lt Gen KT Parnaik (Retd), Hon’ble Governor of Arunachal Pradesh has kindly consented to deliver the keynote address.

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All India Radio to broadcast its Annual Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture

 All India Radio will broadcast the annual Edition of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture on Saturday, December 3, 2022. Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla will deliver the address. It will be on air from 9.30pm onwards on Saturday, December 3, 2022 across the entire network of All India Radio. Listeners can tune into 100.1FM GOLD, 102.6 FM Rainbow, primary Channels of All India Radio, @airnewsalerts on Twitter, NewsOnAirOfficial YouTube Channel and NewsOnAir App to access the broadcast.

Doordarshan News will telecast Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture from 10.30pm onwards the same day.

The theme this year is “Amrit Kaal Mein Bhartiyata” to coincide with the 75 years of India’s independence.

About Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture:

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Le ture is organized by All lndia Radio in the memory of the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad who was an epitome of simplicity, a renowned scholar, President of the Constituent Assembly and a great visionary who had India and Indianness uppermost in his mind.

The lecture series by AIR in his memory has been an honoured tradition since 1969. Eminent personalities like the former President Dr. Shankardayal Sharma, former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, firmer Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu, doyens of Indian literature like Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Mahadevi Verma, Harivansh Rai Bachchan are among those who have delivered this prestigious memorial lecture in the past on wide ranging subjects on India’s cultural ethos and its strides.

The recording of the lecture, is broadcast across the entire network of All lndia Radio on 3rd December every year to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India. The lecture series seeks to evaluate the nation’s political, cultural and social environment. The achievements and the future prospects of the country are also critically analysed through these lectures.

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Saurabh Singh