PM Modi Inaugurates Centre For Brain Research At IISC Bangalore

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) on the IISc Bangalore campus which is built for Rs 280 crore. During the programme, the PM also lay the groundwork for the 832-bed Bagchi Parthasarathy Multispeciality Hospital.

The CBR is developed as a one of its kind research facility and focuses on conducting vital research to provide evidence-based public health interventions to manage age-related brain disorders.

The inauguration events at IISc Bangalore were attended by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, and S Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of IT major Infosys, and his family.

With the generous contribution of Gopalakrishnan and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan, the IISc founded the Centre for Brain Research as an autonomous, non-profit research institution. According to them, CBR is supported by philanthropy and receives research funding from several authorities for specific initiatives.

Gopalakrishnan has also contributed funds for the development of a cutting-edge facility for CBR on the IISc campus, and his charitable donation is the greatest in India's history for scientific research.

The Bagchi Parthasarathy Multispeciality Hospital, the foundation for which was set today, will be built on the IISc campus and will aid in the integration of science, engineering, and medicine at the prominent institute. In February, IISc formed a collaboration with philanthropists Susmita and Subroto Bagchi, as well as Radha and N S Parthasarathy, to build the Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital.

The hospital will give a significant boost to clinical research in the country and will endeavour to identify creative solutions that will aid in the improvement of healthcare services in the country, according to officials. The hospital is expected to open by the end of 2024.

IISC Director Prof Govindan Rangarajan said, "The couples will collectively donate Rs 425 crore (equivalent to about USD 60 million) to help construct this 800-bed, not-for-profit, multi-speciality hospital. After its founding, this is the largest single private donation received by IISc".

Subroto Bagchi and N S Parthasarathy were co-founders of Mindtree, Bengaluru-headquartered IT services and consulting company. "It is not about charity as much (as) it is about being charitable. The essence of being charitable is to build empathy for others. To feel for others. To be sensitive. These are values that were inculcated by parents on both sides of the family very early", Susmita stated.

She further added, "We followed their footsteps in small ways all along. When we lived in the US in (the) 1990s, we were very touched by the way everyone in the community engages with issues. The way they volunteer and help. This helped us to get engaged with institutions upon our return to India".

Radha had explained what inspired the couple to make the large-scale contribution to IISc, saying that they had worked hard and now that they had the money in their hands, they thought that these resources had come to them by fate.

"We believe that these resources have been placed in our hands by destiny and it has to be used for “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the common good of people. The pandemic pushed a sense of urgency. Our intention was to use these for education and/or healthcare", she explained.

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