Presidency University Chancellor Nissar Ahmed to be awarded D.Lit by Bengaluru City University
Bengaluru: Nissar Ahmed, Chancellor of Presidency University and Co-founder and Chairman of the Presidency Group of Institutions (PGI Group), will be awarded an honorary doctorate during the 2nd annual convocation of Bengaluru City University, said Vice-chancellor Lingaraja Gandhi.
The Doctor of Letters (D.Lit) degree will be conferred on Nissar Ahmed, who is a native of Mangaluru, during the convocation ceremony to be held at the ‘Jnana Jyoti’ auditorium of the University on Monday, July 10. Governor of Karnataka and Chancellor of the Bengaluru City University Thawar Chand Gehlot will preside over the program. Renowned cardiologist and director of the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Dr CN Manjunath will be the chief guest and deliver the convocational address.
Minister for Higher Education and Pro-chancellor of the University Dr. MC Sudhakar will be present at the event.
Nissar Ahmed is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who has contributed greatly as an educationist. He began his journey in the field in 1976, co-founding the PGI Group with his late uncle Abdul Hameed. The untimely demise of his uncle, however, forced Nissar Ahmed to take charge of the Institute single-handedly, at the age of 24 years. Since then till now, the PGI Group has grown from having a single school to owning seven schools, a college as well as a university with over 16,000 students. Also, since its inception, the PGI Group has been contributing greatly to the holistic development of education provided in the state.
The schools of the PGI Group are situated in Bengaluru and Mangaluru, and offer education under both ICSE and CBSE syllabus. The two PU colleges are at Hebbal and JP Nagar in Bengaluru. The Presidency College, which is affiliated to the Bengaluru University, offers undergraduate and post-graduate courses.
As a philanthropist, Nissar Ahmed has contributed to institutional social responsibility by taking welfare measures through the Presidency Foundation, including the NSS Cell and the Rotary Club. He undertook several public development works and organized charitable programs and health camps at villages near Bengaluru. Nissar Ahmed also helped the people greatly through his financial contributions during the pandemic.
He has been honoured with several awards and also titles so far, in recognition of his contribution to the field of education. His name was listed among the 50 leading ‘Edupreneurs’ in India by Education World – 2013; the PGI Group was bestowed with the title of ‘Most Promising Education Institute 2013-2014’ by Lord Swaraj Paul, Member of House of Lords, UK Parliament, in 2014; Nissar Ahmed was recognized as ‘The Doyen - Guardian of Knowledge’ for his exemplary contribution to education in Karnataka by the Hindu Group in 2017; he was also the recipient of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in Education Leadership’ by Education World Magazine in 2019.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
