Chennai: TN on Friday announced that it would establish a new government arts and science college named after former President APJ Abdul Kalam in his native town of Rameswaram.
Presenting the state budget 2019-20, Deputy CM O.Panneerselvam announced that the college will be established next academic year.
The former president's body has been buried in Rameswaram following his death in 2015. Born in a poor family, he pursued his studies amid challenging circumstances. The aerospace engineer rose through ranks and eventually elected as the President of India and served the office from 2002 to 2007.
Known as "Missile Man' for his contribution towards developing ballistic missiles, .Kalam loved to interact with the student community during his presidency and even after that. The state government had constituted an award in the name of Kalam for young scientists.
The award carries a gold medal and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
