Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science & Technology, today launched ‘The Maithreyi International Visiting Professorship’ here in New Delhi. This ambitious programme, to be jointly supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), will be administered by two aided institutions of the Ministry. Detailing the scheme Dr. Singh said through this unique initiative, each year, 12 leading international scholars in Science and Technology, from across the globe will be invited to visit India. The Visiting Professors will deliver three talks, one each in a school, a college and a research institution. All these talks will be recorded and made available worldwide on the Internet. The video version of the talks will have transcripts in Hindi and English and possibly in several other Indian languages. A live web-interaction session with the Visiting Professor on Rajya Sabha Television is also envisaged.
He said this Professorship will be beneficial in the sense that through it 36 talks and 12 TV/Radio interactions every year by the world’s best will bring the greatest in the scientific world face-to-face to all of India. The globally accessible recordings of the talks will also take science back to the whole world. Sharing knowledge worldwide will inculcate Maithreyi’s desire for knowledge amongst the young and make knowledge the agent of change.
The name Maithreyi has been derived from the epical story of saige Yājñavalkya who had two wives-Maithreyi and Katyaayanee. When Yājñavalkya wished to leave for the forest and thus pide his property amongst his wives, Maithreyi asked him whether she could become immortal through this wealth. Yājñavalkya replied that through wealth one merely became one amongst the many wealthy but it was knowledge which made one immortal. Maithreyi, then declined her share of his property and asked Yājñavalkya to teach her the way of attaining knowledge and, through that, immortality.