Mangalore deserves IIT but the process may take time: HRD Minister

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Ahmed Anwar)

January 4, 2013

Mangalore, Jan 4: Mangalore does qualify to possess an IIT but it will take some time for the government to give its nod for the same as overseeing of complete implementation of IIT's granted in the 11th five year plan needs to be done in the first place, said Pallam Raju, Union Minister for Human Resource Development.

Speaking at an interaction session with members of the Congress party at the district Congress office in Mangalore on Friday, Mr. Raju said in response to the demand made by former MLA Vijay Kumar Shetty and other Congress leaders of allowing an IIT for NITK, Surathkal, that Mangalore deserves an IIT but the process may take time.

Women's University

“Unless the IITs granted in the 11th plan are established, it is difficult to talk about setting up of new IITs. But Mangalore certainly qualifies to have an IIT. The city being an educational hub, a separate Women's University may also come up in due course of time”, the Minister said.

To a suggestion made by J R Lobo, Former Commissioner, MCC, about including agriculture and horticulture in school syllabi, Mr. Raju said that such a step indeed needs to be taken as rural children need academic exposure to a discipline that they are good at. The Minister asked members of the party present in the gathering to seriously consider including agriculture as part of school syllabuses if the party comes to power in the state.

On the issue of having better R&D (Research and Development) in the academic circles, Mr. Raju said that the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other similar institutions must be made to pump funds into R&D development at local levels. The Government of India is also aware of enhancing R&D in the country. “Currently only 0.85% of our GDP is spent on R&D whereas China spends 3%. The Prime Minister has promised that it will be increased to 2%”, he said.

NEET

U T Khader, MLA, brought to the notice of the Minister the issue of NEET entrance tests and problems being faced by the students and teachers in the state. Both students as well as teachers have been accustomed to state syllabus all this while and with NEET and the changed central syllabus coming in, there was a need to provide training to students and teachers which has not happened, he said. Salaries have not been paid to high school teachers in the state in the last three months by the state government, he said.

Not a single high school, PU or degree college has been started by the state government in its current term and whatever activity has been carried out is mere implementation of Centre's projects by the state government, he added.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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