World Konkani Centre to award scholarship worth Rs 40.5lakh

World Konkani Centre to award scholarship worth Rs 40.5lakh

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, August 18: World Konkani Centre, Mangalore has announced that its shall be disbursing scholarships worth Rs. 40.5 lakhs to 135 Engineering and MBBS aspirants at a function to be held on Friday, the 20th August 2010 at 11:00 A.M. at Sri T.V. Raman Pai Convention Centre, Kodialbail, Mangalore.

Announcing this at a press meet in the city, Pradeep G. Pai, Secretary of ‘Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund (VKSSF)’ said his body, VKSSF, has been specially constituted by World Konkani Centre for the purpose of promoting higher education among economically backward sections of the Konkani speaking community irrespective of caste or religion.

The current year’s scholarships will be distributed by Shri Ramadas Kamath U., Senior Vice President, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore, who is also the Chairman of the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund.

20th August is celebrated every year as ‘Konkani Manyata Diwas’ to commemorate the inclusion of Konkani Language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, Pai added.

Vishwa Konkani Sardar Shri Basti Vaman Shenoy, President and Founder, World Konani Centre will proclaim the World Konkani Vision Statement at this function, which will be presided over by Dr. P. Dayanand Pai, Chairman of Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation, which is the parent body of World Konkani Centre.

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Denis Prabhu, Vicar General, Mangalore Diocese and Shri M. Annappa Pai, Hon. Secretary, Canara High School Association, Mangalore will be the Guests of Honour. Special felicitation will be given to Smt. Chaya Burdekar, IAS, who is the first person to pass UPSC exams with Konkani as a subject.

Explaining the rationale of the scholarship, Pai said, that it is observed that in the entire country, only about 13% of those who complete secondary education opt for higher studies and only a miniscule percentage of the students are able to access professional courses. India is the second most populous country in the world and has immense capacity for harnessing this vast human resource for development.

“It is hoped that Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund will be instrumental in reaching the underprivileged sections of society to avail quality technical education and be a part of the nation’s progress,” he said.

In the current year a total of 350 applications were received and 135 eligible students falling within 25,000 CET ranking have been shortlisted for award of scholarship at the above function. An orientation programme has been held for the awardees and their parents to acquaint them with the aims and objectives of the scholarship.

Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund
‘Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund’ has been instituted on the basis of an inspiring suggestion provided by Shri T. V. Mohandas Pai, Director, Infosys Technologies, Bangalore and a patron trustee of World Konkani Centre.

During his visit to the World Konkani Centre, Shri Pai had expressed deep concern that many meritorious and promising Konkani students were forced to lose the opportunity to pursue higher education due to economic constraints. As a solution, he had suggested that a special scholarship should be instituted to specifically address this issue and had also generously volunteered to make a personal contribution to the effort. 

“No Konkani child should be deprived of education because of lack of means. A sizeable scholarship fund will not only enable deprived students to gain higher education, but also the society in general will have a lot to gain from such qualified individuals,” he had said.

Responding to his fervent appeal, World Konkani Centre came forward with the initiative to institute the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund.

Aims & Objectives
‘Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund’ envisages grant of educational scholarship to economically backward students having Konkani language as their mother tongue. The scholarship is available for students aspiring for higher education in the field of medicine and engineering.

The scholarship will go a long way in ensuring a better future for the beneficiaries and their families. Students belonging to needy segment of society are often first generation learners or come from single parent families. Giving them the opportunity to pursue higher studies will provide the breakthrough required for liberation from economic deprivation. Further, the presence of an educated, well employed and empowered individual in the family has the potential to radically transform the family’s future, with the benefits percolating to all the family members of the present and future generations.

Furthermore, as the beneficiaries will sponsor two students each after completion of education and securing employment, the ripple effects of this initiative will reach a much larger and continuously expanding population canvas.


Fundraising Campaign
After the Fund was instituted, World Konkani Centre undertook a major campaign to motivate prospective donors to contribute financially to the fund. Within a short period of less than two months, the centre has been able to mobilize Rs. 40.5 lakhs from ten individual benefactors, namely: T. V. Mohandas Pai, Bangalore, Dr. P. Dayanand Pai, Bangalore, U. Ramadas Kamath, Bangalore, K. V. Kamath, Mumbai, Jagannath Shenoi, Mysore, Dr. T. Ranjan Pai, Manipal, Ronald Colaco, Bangalore, A. Annappa S. Kamath, Bangalore, Rohan Monteiro, Mangalore and Pradeep G. Pai, Mangalore.

Governance of the Fund
‘Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund’ is administered by a Governing Council comprising eminent personalities. Sri U. Ramadas Kamath, Senior Vice President, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore is the President of the Fund and Sri Pradeep G. Pai, Managing Director of Hangyo Ice Creams Pvt. Ltd., is the secretary.

As the Fund will function on the basis of ‘Stream’ concept, the entire amount generated every year will be distributed to the beneficiaries and no separate corpus will be maintained. Contributions to the Fund will be eligible for Tax Exemption under section 80(G) of the Income Tax Act.

World Konkani Centre President Basti Vaman Shenoy, Secretary Venkatesh N. Baliga, Treasurer Kudpi Jagadish Shenoy and Secretary of World Konkani Language Institute Gurudutt Baliga were present at the press meet.

For further details, readers may contact:
Sri Pradeep G. Pai, Secretary, VKSSF, Ph.: 824 2495887
Sri Venkatesh N. Baliga, Secretary, WKC, Ph: 98807 01747

Address: Vishwa Konkani Students Scholarship Fund, World Konkani Centre, Konkani Gaon, Shakti Nagar, Mangalore – 575016.