Professor B.B. Bhattacharya, Vice-Chancellor was elected as President of the Indian Economic Association for 2007-2008 in the 89^th Annual Conference of the Indian Economic Association held at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra from December  27-29, 2006.

       Prof.  B.B.  Bhattacharya, Vice-Chancellor was conferred the ’Amity Academic Excellence Award’, on 21 February 2007, by the Amity International Business School, Amity University, Noida, in a function held in the Main Amity Campus. He was selected by a panel of their Board members for this award and a Gold Medal for his significant contribution in the field of Education and Research was given.

Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, has been elected as Sectional President (Modern India), Indian History Congress.

Dr. Alka Acharya, Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, has been inducted into the National Security Advisory Board, which is an important element of the National Security Council System with the main function of advising the Government on security related issues.

Prof. Shashiprabha Kumar, Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, has been awarded the Sanskrit Sahitya Sewa Samman 2006 by Delhi Sanskrit Academy, Government of Delhi.

Dr. Samudrala Gourinath, Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, has been awarded the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award (IYBA) by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), for the year 2006.

Prof. Suvira Jaiswal, Visiting Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, has been elected as General President, Indian History Congress.

Prof. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, former Professor Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences has been appointed as Chairperson, Indian Council for Historical Research.

Dr. S.K. Sopory, former Professor, School of Life Sciences, has been awarded the prestigious ’Padmashree’ by the President of India during Republic Day Celebrations, 2007.

Mr. Manoranjan Pattanayak, Ph.D. Scholar, Centre for International Trade and Development, School of International Studies was given the Best Research Paper Award for the paper “Insider Ownership and Firm Value: Evidence from Indian Corporate Sector” in the area of Corporate Governance, during the International Conference on Business & Finance 2007 held at Hyderabad.

Mr. Vishal Ranjan, Ph.D. Student, Centre for South, Central, South-East Asian & South West Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, has been awarded, a scholarship by Australian Education International, Australian High Commission.

Ms. Apoora Agrahari, M.Phil (Japanese), Centre for Japanese and North East Asian Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, has been awarded the Okita Memorial Scholarship by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for the year 2006.

Ms. K.B.Aradhana, M.Phil/Ph.D. (Japanese), Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, has been awarded the Okita Memorial Scholarship by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for the year 2006.

Mr. K.S. Luckyson James, Ms. Caronine Maninee, Mr. Thangkhanlal Ngaiste, Mr. Nilamber Benia, Mr. Uttam Kumar Mandal, Mr. Pamei Francis and Mr. Thoti Srinivasa, Research Scholars, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences have been awarded “Nirman Foundation Scholarships” for the year 2006-07.

Ms. Reetu Sharma, M.Phil Student, Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health, School of Social Sciences, has been awarded “Dr. Shaila Zubrigg Fellowship” for the year 2006.

Mr. Rahul Kumar Rakesh, M.A. (Economics), Centre for Economics Studies & Planning, School of Social Sciences, has been awarded “Dr. A.N. Bhatt Memorial Cash Prize” for the year 2006-07.

Ms. Swaguta Basu, B.A. (Spanish), Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, has been selected for the “Juhi Prasad Cash Award” for the year 2006 for securing the highest FGPA.

Ms. Shibani Murlidhar, Research Scholar, Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, has been given the “Rafael Iruzubieta Award” for the year 2006 for securing first position.

Ms. Ira Mathur, Research Scholar, Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, has been given the “Rafael Iruzubieta Award” for the year 2006 for securing second position.

Mr. Alok Tripathi, M.A. (Sanskrit), Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, has been awarded “D.S. Gardi Sanskrit Scholarship” for the year 2006.

Ms. Neetu, M.Sc. (Environmental Science), School of Environmental Sciences, has been awarded the “Chandersekhar Prasad Scholarship” for the year 2006.

Russian Award for JNU Professor

For the first time, a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University has been felicitated by Russia for his contribution in strengthening Indo-Russian ties. Prof. Sankar Basu, who teaches Russian at the Centre of Russian Studies, JNU, was awarded Order of Friendship, by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russian embassy in the Capital on January 26.

Talking about the award, Basu says, “Order of Friendship is given to those foreigners who make valuable contribution towards improving ties with Russia”.

Only a few other Indians have received this award in the past, the most prominent being former prime minister I.K. Gujral. Apart from Basu, Rajya Sabha MP Nirmala Deshpande also received the award this year.

Basu’s association with Russia dates back to his childhood. His father was posted in Moscow where he worked with Moscow Radio’s Indian section. “I was very comfortable with the life and culture there. People were extremely friendly and cooperative. I also picked up their language very fast.”

When he was 14, Basu’s family came back to India and settled at Kolkata. “I studied political science from Calcutta University but never lost touch with Russian language. I enrolled for a diploma course in the language. I then went to Moscow to do Masters and Ph.D. in Russian.”

Talking about his student days in Russia, Basu says, “I had a fun time there. Indians are considered the best among all foreign students in Russian universities.”

After completing his doctorate, Basu came back to India in 1973. He taught in Hyderabad or a brief period, before joining JNU in 1974.

About his contribution towards Russian language and culture, Basu says, “For the last four years, I have been president of the Delhi Association of Alumni of Russian/Soviet Academic institutions. We organize seminars, cultural programmes and exchange programmes so that youngsters of both countries know each other’s culture better”.

He agrees that things were difficult during the ’90s. “Our relationship had become slightly stagnant and openings had become limited. Now things are changing, language specialists are in great demand.”

Basu also wrote a book Russian Culture and Civilisation, 10 years ago, which was a success in both the countries. “My aim is to bring people of the two countries together. After Soviet Union broke up, it was a tough task bringing the relationship with Russia back to normal. ’But things are improving.”