Agartala, September 5 (TIWN) : Tripura university has proposed the names of renowned industrialists Ratan Tata, Azim Premji and Narayan Murthy as chancellor of the central varsity, a top official said here Sunday.

“In our recent Executive Council meeting of the university, we have proposed six names for the post of chancellor of the university to the union ministry of human resource development (MHRD),” University registrar Onkar Sadhan Adhikari said.

He said : “Now the MHRD would send the names to the university’s visitor and President Pranab Mukherjee for choosing one name out of the six names.”

The new chancellor would replace Professor and renowned physicist T. V. Ramakrishnan, who reluctant to continue as the chancellor of the Tripura University.

According to Adhikari, the executive council of the university proposed the names for the post of chancellor include noted industrialist and Tata Group chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, celebrity Indian physicist Ashoke Sen, former Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University Professor Asok  Nath Basu and former Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sanstha Professor Radha Ballav Tripathy.

“Normally eminent academician holds such posts. We proposed  Ratan Tata, Azim Premji and Narayan Murthy’s name considering the economic interest of Tripura,” another senior university official added.

Tata trusts headed by Ratan Tata recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Left Front government here to support the Tripura government to raise the livelihood of the people in the fisheries, animal resources and dairy development sectors, besides aiding skill development of unemployed youths.

Tripura education minister Tapan Chakraborty appreciates the University for preparing the panel with names of distinguished personalities.

“Tripura government has no role or not doing any influence in choosing chancellor of the central University nor did the university seek any views of the state government in this regard, we want reputed person should occupy such post,” Chakraborty stated.

He said that though chancellor of a university has no major executive power, but if he keen to do any works for the development and welfare of the university, he can.

“Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was ready to do something good for Nalanda University as its Chancellor, but he has to desist himself due to the interference of the central government,” said Chakraborty, who holds both higher and school education departments of Tripura’s Left Front government.   

Reacting to the Tripura University’s decision to propose Ratan Tata’s name as chancellor of the university, state chief minister Manik Sarkar said : “This is the decision of the central university. I am not opposing Tata’s name as the chancellor of the university.”

Set up in 1987, the existing Tripura University was turned into a central university in 2007. It has been ranked fourth in eastern India and 43rd in the country in a recent survey conducted by private study groups.