Three to get MU’s honorary doctorates

Mangaluru: Mangalore University will confer honorary doctoral degrees on three eminent personalities during its 41st convocation ceremony, scheduled for March 15, Wednesday.
PS Yadapadithaya, the vice-chancellor of Mangalore University, said the names of three persons who will receive honoris causa during the convocation were ratified during a special syndicate meeting held on Tuesday.
The persons receiving honorary doctorates are: UK Monu (education and social service), G Ramakrishna Achar (agriculture, education, and social service) and MB Puranik (education and social service). They will be conferred the honoris causa by the governor of Karnataka and Chancellor of the University, Thaawarchand Gehlot, during the convocation .
“UK Monu is the founder and MD of Kanachur Group of Industries in Mangaluru. He also established the Kanachur Academy of General Education in 2002. The academy provides quality education to local people, especially women and the underprivileged. Monu has made significant contributions to the social and religious fields. His business ventures have provided employment opportunities for many in the region.
Rising from humble beginnings, Ramakrishna Achar’s life has become an inspiration for many. Despite financial hardships, he upgraded his technical knowledge through CFTRI, Mysuru. From then on, he did not look back. Though he started his professional life in a shed with only Rs 25,000 capital, he ploughed hard and today he owns a fabrication company that is making waves in the fields of agriculture, water management and sewage treatment, with a turnover of Rs 250 crore per annum and employs over 3,000 people in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled segments. He has built infrastructure close to Rs 100 crore.
MB Puranik is an educationalist, an entrepreneur, a social worker, and a politician. Being a professor of botany, he made education his passion. He realised that a lot of problems in society could be solved by empowering youth with education and employment. Over the past thirty years, he has been successful at building 10 institutions on four different campuses.