Mangalore: At an August sitting of Konkani luminaries, at the T.V.Raman Pai auditorium on Friday morning in city, Rs.1crore worth of scholarships to study Engineering and medicine, was given away to over 330 students for 2011-12, by Vishwa Konkani Kendra leaders on a bright sunny noon at Kodialbail here.
T.V.Mohandas Pai, who recently resigned from Infosys and took over as chairman of Manipal Universal Learning asked the scholarship-holders to grab every opportunity that came by to them now. Only 13% of India’s youth population were going in for higher studies, but this should increase to 25%.He said that Konkani speakers were in a minority and have no hold over politics and cabinets, but their knowledge cannot be looted. They should study hard, enrich, and pay back to the society what they received when they were struggling for better days. He blessed all young students affectionately.
Guest of Honour Grace Pinto, of Ryan International Group of educational Institutions (from Mumbai) that fed and looked after 2lakhs of young students all over the country, gave powerful chants to the students gathered to follow. M. Jagannath Shenoy of Mysore(Ganesh Beedi Works) promised to help any Konkani cause as today’s.
Corporation Bank Manager B.R. Bhat who has collaborated with Vishwa Konkani Centre explained the norms of offering loans to students throughout their period of study and the time permitted to repay these loans after they took up jobs as graduates in engineering and medicine.
Medical students selected today received Rs.40000 each, while engineering students (both boys and girls) got Rs.30000 each. Gurudatt Bantwalkar of V.K Centre (Assistant Director) was feted by the celebrities with shawl and mementoes for his contributions to websites in Konkani language, on return from Israel.
Basti Vaman Shenoy in his presidential speech informed that his presidential speech informed that his Centre would also finance students at PUC and Graduate levels shortly.
Ramdas Kamath U. of Infosys and Mohandas Pai have taken up world Konkani Kendra activities in right earnest. They have said other backward Konkani-speaking people such as Siddis and Kharvis will be taken care of in due course.
M.Venkatesh Baliga conducted the proceedings. Several guests were honored with flowers on the happy occasion that ended with a crowded lunch.