Freedom from bureaucracy, political interference imp for institutions: Nobel Laureate Ramakrishnan

Freedom from bureuacracy and political interference is important for the functioning of good institutions, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan said on Saturday.

The British-American structural biologist of Indian-origin was speaking at the launch of a school of biosciences of Ashoka University at an event held here.

"Ashoka University is a private university, and initially I was a bit prejudiced against the idea of a private university. But, I was impressed by certain aspects of it," he said.

India-born Ramakrishnan, who was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with two of his peers for their research on the structure and function of the ribosome, praised the varsity, saying it is driven by "meritocracy".

The noted scientist said, "freedom from bureuacracy and political interference" is important for the functioning of a good institution, and appreciated the university for maintaining high standards.

He said, Ashoka University's emphasis on liberal arts could set a really good example in the country, besides other institutions.