Scholarships awarded to Konkani students    

Mangaluru, Aug 19 (PTI): The Vishwa Konkani StudentScholarship Fund (VKSSF) Merit-Cum-Means Scholarships-2016were distributed to deserving Konkani students by unionrailway minister Suresh Prabhu here today. The scholarships worth Rs 3.5 crore instituted by Konkani Language and Cultural Foundation (KLCF) were given to 685 students aspiring to pursue MBBS and engineering courses. After distributing the scholarships, the minister toldthe students that they would become successful if they builttheir lives around their mother tongue. "We must always work together to hold on to the roots ofour mother tongue. If we forget the roots, we become ruthless.And if a person becomes ruthless he cannot be successful," hesaid. He urged the students to promote their mother tongue andcontribute to society rather than learn several languages. "I call upon all the students present to be theintellectuals, thus making Vishwa Konkani Kendra a worldrenowned knowledge exchange centre," he said. State Minister for large and medium industries R V Deshapande, who was present, told the students to be aware ofdevelopments around the world along with gaining education. "Merit and quality are the order of the day.If you do nothave them, then the education that you pursue is of no use",he said. Manipal Global Education Chairman T V Mohandas Pai advised the students to help uplift the living standards of weak sections in the society after they become successful. President of Vishwa Konkani Kendra Basti Vaman Shenoy, chairman of VKSSF Ramdas Kamath, entrepreneur JagannathShenoy and others were present. PTI MVG RA APRAPR