The loudest applause at the inaugural function of the five-day Indian Science Congress on Monday was reserved for Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan when he received the Gold Medal of the General President of the Indian Science Congress Association from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Clad in a kurta and pyjama, Dr. Ramakrishnan spoke a few words to Dr. Singh.
The audience responded cheerfully for the second time when the name of Amartya Sen, who received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998, was read out, though Professor Sen was not present.
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The awards named after Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, Srinivasa Ramanujan and S.N. Bose were given to R. Ramamurthi, former Vice-Chancellor of the Venkateswara University, Tirupati; Allam Appa Rao, Vice-Chancellor of the Jawarharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada; and Balram Bhargava, Professor, Department of Cardiology, Cardio Thoracic Sciences Center, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.