Chandigarh: The government of Punjab has decided to introduce a scholarship in the name of Nobel Laureate Hargobind Khorana. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Finance Minister, Punjab, has proudly mentioned the inclusion of the scholarship while presenting his annual budget on Wednesday i.e. March 20, 2013. All the members from government and opposition have appreciated the vision of the finance minister.
From this year itself, the scheme will provide financial assistance to meritorious students studying in government schools. Students who will secure 80% or above marks in matriculation (Class 10) will be given financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for their two year senior secondary (Class XI and XII) education, Parminder Singh has said.
In his budget, Mr Singh has sanctioned Rs 8 Crore for the scheme and said that it will boost up the moral and eager for obtaining education in the state. While addressing the assembly, Mr Singh has also added that Hargobind Khorana made us proud with his achievement and phenomenal work in the field of medical science.
Born on January 9, 1922, Hargobind Khorana was a biochemist who shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology (Medicine) in the year 1968 with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley. Punjab is the native of Har Gobind Khorana who later accepted the citizenship of United States of America (USA). He earned bachelors and masters degree in science from Punjab University, Lahore and later in the year 1945 moved to University of Liverpool for further education. After earning PhD in 1948, Mr Khorana continued his postdoctoral studies in Zurich. He and his team was the first to demonstrate the role of nucleotides in protein synthesis and for this exceptional achievement, they won the prestigious Nobel Prize.
