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The THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (IISc) - one of the premier
institutes in the country
 Jamsetji
Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) was one of the extraordinary
men who even towards the end of the nineteenth century was convinced
that the future progress of the country depended crucially on
research in Science & Engineering. He envisaged this Institute
as destined to promote original investigations in all branches
of learning and to utilise them for the benefit of India.
After consulting several authorities in our country, he constituted
a Provisional Committee to prepare the required scheme for the
setting up of the Institute. On 31st December 1898, a draft
prepared by the Committee was presented to Lord Curzon,
the Viceroy-designate. Subsequently, upon the request of the
Secretary of State for India, the Royal Society of London asked
for the help of William Ramsay, a Nobel Laureate. Ramsay
made a quick tour of the country and reported Bangalore to be
the suitable place for such an Institution. On the initiative
of the Dewan, Sir K Sheshadri Iyer, the Government of
Shri Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore came
forward with an offer of 372 acres of land, free of cost and
promised other necessary facilities.
Thus the original scheme of Jamsetji Tata became a tripartite
venture with the association of the Government of India and
the Government of Maharaja of Mysore. Subsequently, the Government
of Karnataka had gifted lands during the Golden Jubilee and
Platinum Jubilee of the Institute making the current land holding
of the Institute up to 443 acres.
 The
constitution of the Institute was approved by the Viceroy
Lord Minto, and the necessary Vesting Order was signed on
27th May 1909. Early in 1911, the Maharaja of Mysore laid the
foundation stone of the Institute and on 24th July the first
batch of students were admitted in the Departments of General
and Applied Chemistry and Electrotechnology.
With the establishment of the University Grants Commission
in 1956, the Institute came under its purview as a deemed
university. The Institute has been able to make many significant
contributions primarily because of a certain uniqueness in its
character.
It is neither a National Laboratory which concentrates solely
on research and applied work, nor a conventional University
which concerns itself mainly with teaching. But the Institute
is concerned with research in frontier areas and education in
current technologically important areas.
This is also the first Institute in the country to introduce
innovative integrated Ph.D Programmes in Biological, Chemical
and Physical Sciences for science graduates. In the
past eight decades many were the alumni and faculty who passed
out from this Institute to give direction to science and technology
in the country, to create and nurture other laboratories and
scientific institutions and to establish key industries. Some
of them are- C V Raman, H J Bhabha, Vikram S Sarabhai, J
C Ghosh, M S Thacker, S Bhagavantam, S Dhawan and C N
R Rao.
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