India News | 109th Indian Science Congress on Hold as Host LPU Pulls out

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) The 109th edition of the Indian Science Congress, scheduled to begin on January 3, has been put on hold after the Lovely Professional University conveyed its inability to host the annual gathering of scientists, the organisers of the event said on Thursday.

The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), which organises the annual event, also decided to make an open appeal to universities across the country to host the event.

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The ISCA has been organising the Indian Science Congress every year since 1914. Since Independence, the prime minister has been inaugurating the annual gathering of scientists.

"The Executive Committee of the Indian Science Congress Association met this evening and decided to put the 109th Congress on hold. We have also decided to post an appeal on our website for universities keen to host the event," ISCA President Arvind Saxena told PTI.

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Saxena said the ISCA will wait till February to see whether any university was interested in hosting the event.

The ISCA has formed a five-member committee to scout for possible venues to host the Congress.

The decision of the Lovely Professional University came against the backdrop of the Department of Science and Technology announcing a freeze on the sponsorship of the annual event accusing ISCA of taking "unilateral decisions."

The DST makes a grant of up to Rs 5 crore to the university hosting the Science Congress every year.

In a notice to all secretaries of scientific departments in September, the Department of Science and Technology said, "It has also been decided that DST support from all its resources for the forthcoming ISC event in 2024 will be discontinued."

There have been differences between the government and the ISCA over the past few years over the organisation of the event. The government has been promoting the India International Science Festival (IISF) as a parallel event since 2015.

The ISCA has also moved court against the DST, alleging government interference in its functioning.

Originally, the 109th Indian Science Congress was to be held at the Lucknow University, which conveyed to ISCA its inability to host the event.

Lovely Professional University had offered to host the event, but pulled out at the last minute.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)