PM to attend annual NCL function on Thursday

Late PM Indira Gandhi attended the Silver Jubilee function and A B Vajpayee attended the Golden Jubilee event in 2000,he said.

“It is only appropriate for the Prime Minister to grace the occasion as we complete 60 years,’’ said Sivaram .

The programme will commence at 12 pm and conclude at 1 pm.

The Prime Minister will unveil a plaque and lay down the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER).

He is also expected to inaugurate a new building for research at the NCL.

The research building will be named Polymers and Advanced Material building and is the first building to come up on the campus after nearly 25 years.

The last building was completed in 1984.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to give a 15-minute speech on the occasion,Sivaram said.

NCL has over 200 scientists with a Phd in science and engineering and about 300 technical staff while nearly 450 students are pursuing their Phd and about 250 are pursuing their masters in science. They are working on various projects on short-term assignments.

400 papers are peer reviewed in scientific journals and over 50 patents secured every year,said Sivaram.

India’s first research lab
The National Chemical Laboratory NCL was the first research laboratory to be established and inaugurated in independent India. The foundation stone of NCL was laid on April 6,1947 four months before India became independent. The construction of the building was completed in 1948 and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated and dedicated the laboratory to the nation on January 3,1950,23 days before India became a republic.