30June 2023,Chikkaballapur:Smt. DroupadiMurmu – The Hon’ble President of India will preside over the second convocation of Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence here on 03 July 2023 in the presence of Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, the Founder of the University, it was announced here today.Smt. Droupadi Murmu – The Hon’ble President of India, will preside over the Second Convocation of Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence in Karnataka on 03 July 2023

Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai said in a statement: “It’s a proud moment for usthat, Smt. DroupadiMurmu – The Hon’ble President of India, would be comingto Sri Sathya Sai University (in Chikkaballapur district, near Bengaluru) for ourannual convocation on 03 July. The Hon’ble President would be conferringhonorary doctorates to six eminent Indians who have been contributing to theprocess ofnation-buildingforthelastmanydecades.”

“Sixty-six percent of graduates who would be awarded their degrees this yearcomefrombelow-the-line(BPL)families,andfifty-twopercentareruralyouths,”the Founder said, adding that “The presence of the Hon’ble President for theconvocation, who rose to India’s highest constitutional office despite comingfrom a humble background, would be the most inspiring for the graduatingstudents.”

President Murmu, herself a first-generation literate, started her life journey in asmalltribalvillageinOdisha.Shecrossedmanyobstacles,andwiththehelpofherresolve,shebecamethe firstdaughterofhervillage togotocollege.

The Hon’ble President will also confer honorary doctorates on six eminentIndians who have excelled in their fields and contributed to nation-building tothe best of their capacities. Prof Ajay K Sood – Principal Scientific Advisor totheGovernmentofIndia(ScienceandTechnology);GanakalabhushanaVidwanDr R K Padmanabha – renowned Carnatic music vocalist (Music andArt); MrPullelaGopichand – Chief National Coach of the Indian BadmintonTeam (Sports and Fitness); DrPratima Murthy– Director of the NationalInstitute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Healthcare); Vedic Scholar andPadma Shri Awardee Prof Vijay Shankar Shukla – Faculty, Indira GandhiNational Centre for Arts for Education (Education), and Padma Shri AwardeeMrsTulsiGowda–IndianEnvironmentalist(SocialServiceandPhilanthropy).

With over 70% of the current students coming from the BPL segment, theinstitutionisprovingtruetoitsgoalsandphilosophyoflong-termnation-buildingand unflinching adherence to universal human values, with the aim of servingthelastman.

The university offers free education to first-generation literates, both men andwomen,acrossthecountryandadherestothehighestacademicstandardswithdiverse educational programmes, top faculty, and modern infrastructure. Arecord64%of pass-outs thisyear arefemalestudents.

Forty-three percent of the current students come from rural India, and the aimof the founder is to give them an academic environment that matches thehighestglobalstandardsandbestpractisesinhighereducationfromacrosstheglobe.

TheUniversityhasestablishedSriMadhusudanSaiInstituteofMedicalSciencesandResearch(SMSIMSR),India’sfirstfreemedicalcollegeimpartingfree values-based medical education, which was inaugurated by the Hon’blePrime Minister of India – Shri Narendra Modi on 25 March 2023. Apart fromMBBS course, the Medical College also offers bachelor programmes in alliedhealth sciences and nursing. The 360 bedded teaching hospital also cater tothe needs of the rural patients by providing free multi-speciality healthcare. Onanygivendayaround1,000 outpatientsand300 inpatients are beingtreated.