Pilani: If India gets it right by empowering the youth with the right education, it will benefit from its demographic dividend with a young, productive workforce that will propel economic growth for decades. According to Swami Vivekananda, the education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion, is not worth the name and real education is that which enables one to stand on one’s own legs. A quote of Swami Vivekananda which truly inspires the youth goes as “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success”. Way to Transform Shridhar University has the rich tradition of observing events of both national and international importance such as World Health Day, World Entrepreneurship Day, World Earth Day, World Press Freedom Day, World Environment Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Music day, World Population Day, International Ozone Day, Human Rights Day, Gandhi Jayanthi, Ambedkar Jayanthi, Kabir Das Jayanthi, Engineers Day, National Education Day, etc. In the same spirit, the university observed National Youth Day on January 12, 2011. On this occasion, Prof BR Natarajan Pro Vice Chancellor urged the faculty and students of the University to take inspiration from the teachings of Swami Vivekananda to make the world at large a better place to live.

According to Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore “In Science, we go through the discipline of eliminating the personal limitations of our minds and thus reach the comprehension of truth which is in the minds of the universal man”. Despite the significant achievements such as Chandrayaan, Brahmos and many more, it is an undeniable fact that certain sections of Indian society are still guided by blind faith and beliefs. The basic objective for celebration of National Science Day is to spread the message of importance of science and its application among the people. To popularize the benefits of scientific knowledge, 28th February is celebrated all over India as National Science Day (NSD) to mark the discovery of Nobel Prize winning Raman Effect by the great Indian Physicist Sir C. V. Raman in 1928 on same day. Raman Effect is a phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist while working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of science – IACS Kolkata. IUPAC, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization have declared year 2011 as International Year of Chemistry – IYC 2011 to celebrate the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. February 28 also happens to be the birthday of Linus Pauling who won the undivided Nobel Prize twice – for Chemistry in 1954 and for Peace in 1962.

Choosing the theme for National Science Day celebrations on 28 February 2011 as Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century. Prof BR Natarajan Pro Vice Chancellor in his address to the faculty and students of Shridhar University highlighted the challenges in terms of Synthesis and Manufacturing: Creating and Exploiting New Substances and New Chemical as well as Physical Transformations; Isolating, Identifying, Imaging, and Measuring Substances and Structures; Chemical Theory and Computer Modeling; The Interface with Biology and Medicine; Materials by Design; Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry; Energy: Providing for the Future; National and Personal Security.