It will be held at SRM University in Kattankulathur, with delegates from all over the country participating Express News Service THE Indian Youth Science Congress is all set to begin here on June 26. The three-day Congress is aimed at providing a platform for students and young teachers between the age of 18 and 35 to present papers on their work. "The idea is to motivate students to take up science. Reports have showed that students prefer more saleable education, like informatics, these days," said agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, whose M S Swaminathan Research Foundation is jointly organising the Congress with SRM Univer whose M S Swaminathan jointly organising the Co sity and with the support of governmental agencies. He said the United Nations had declared 2010 as International Year of Youth and that the President had declared the decade beginning 2010 as the `Decade of Innovation'. In this backdrop, youth of the country should be given sufficient opportunities and platforms to present their work. present their work. The Youth Congress will be held at SRM University in Kattankulathur, with delegates from all over the country participating in it. Over 300 papers had been received on agriculture, biotechnology, medical sciences, space and communication, information technology, nanotechnology, climate change and traditional knowledge systems. Authors of papers that did not make it to the final list for presentation at the Congress had been invited as observers. The Congress will also feature 40 eminent speakers across eight sessions such as National Biodiversity Authority Chairman P L Gautam, ICAR Deputy Director General Swapan Datta, A D Karve of the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute and high-ranking officials from various government departments. Prof Swaminathan will also address the Congress. Swaminathan said the inaugural session would set the tone for the Congress. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan is slated to speak about the Chandrayaan mission and the way forward. He said, "Talking about projects like Chandrayaan can spark the imagination of students and motivate them to take up science."