Ujjain, April 2 (IANS) In a renewed push to assert that Indian time calculation is more precise than prevailing Western systems, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will inaugurate a three-day international conference titled ‘Mahakal: The Master of Time’ on Friday, April 3, at the Dongla Digital Planetarium Complex near Ujjain.
He will also dedicate the newly constructed Ujjain Science Centre to the public on the occasion.
The conference, scheduled from April 3 to 5, aims to create a unique platform blending ancient Indian knowledge tradition with modern space science and astronomy. It is being jointly organised by the Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology, the Indian Knowledge Tradition Cell (Ministry of Education), and Vijnana Bharati.
Prominent dignitaries expected to attend the inaugural session include Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, ISRO Chairman Dr V. Narayanan, and noted thinker-author Suresh Soni.
Ujjain, the sacred city associated with Lord Mahakal and Emperor Vikramaditya, has been a global centre for timekeeping and astronomical research since ancient times. Acharya Varahamihira had established Ujjain as the prime meridian for astronomical calculations.
The conference will also deliberate on the possibility of declaring the Ujjain-Dongla region as a global meridian (Prime Meridian), leveraging the fact that the Tropic of Cancer passes through Dongla, located about 35 km from Ujjain.
The newly built Ujjain Science Centre, constructed at a cost of over Rs 15 crore, features a Science Gallery, Outdoor Science Park, Innovation and Student Activity Hall, Heritage-themed Gallery, and an Exhibit Development Lab. It is designed to promote scientific temper among students and the general public.
Key highlights of the conference include workshops on UAVs, remote-control technology, satellite manufacturing, safe observation of solar sunspots, and telescopic study of the night sky. Special sessions on student-teacher interactions and space technology training will be organised to ignite interest in space science among the youth.
Eminent scientists and experts participating include Dr V.K. Saraswat (NITI Aayog), Prof. Yasuhide Hobara (University of Tokyo), Dr Nilesh Desai (ISRO), Dr Prakash Chauhan (NRSC), Dr Annapurni Subramaniam (IIA Bengaluru), and several others from ISRO, CSIR, DRDO, and international institutions.
The three-day event will feature lectures, panel discussions, a technology expo, start-up conference, book launches, exhibitions, and cultural programmes. Institutions such as ISRO, CSIR, TIFR, IIT Indore, and DRDO will showcase their achievements.
The conference is expected to give momentum to preparations for Simhastha-2028 and strengthen Ujjain’s position as a global centre for time and space science. The state government is actively working to develop Ujjain as a ‘Time Scale Centre’ and establish a Science City in the region.
--IANS
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