Agricultural university seeks donations to corpus fund

Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) authorities have intensified collection of corpus fund matching the Tamil Nadu government’s corpus fund of 100 crore to support research activities. TNAU is mobilizing fund from private entities, institutions and bodies to maintain it as a deposit.
The government will release 20 crore of the 100 crore in the current academic year, TNAU vice-chancellor V Geethalakshmi said. “The university has been approaching private entities, alumni and philanthropists to collect 20 crore to match the government fund,” she told TOI. “The amount will be maintained in the TNAU corpus fund and interest accrued will be utilized to foster innovative research and nurture young talents.”
“The university has got assurances of contribution from many people. We are confident of reaching 20 crore soon. People should come forward to contribute to the genuine cause,” the VC said.
The university received 5 crore from R Pancharatnam, son of late K Ramaiah, a pioneer rice breeder of TNAU, on Wednesday.
Ramaiah was a recipient of Padma Shri in 1957 for his contribution to rice breeding and research activities. He served in TNAU paddy breeding station, which was established in 1912, for 24 years, between 1914 and 1938.
“Rice variety GEB 24 (kichili samba) developed by Ramaiah was used as a progenitor for developing 83 rice varieties across the globe. In his memory, TNAU established its own crop germplasm repository ‘Ramaiah Gene Bank’ in 2009,” Geethalakshmi added.