New Delhi [India], Aug 4 (ANI): Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the country has not had Nobel Laureate for basic research in the last 70 years due to lack of environment, where students are encouraged for basic research."India has not had any Nobel Laureate for basic research in the last 70 years. It's not a question of lack of talent, but a lack of environment, or ambience, where students are encouraged for basic research," Mukherjee said at Indian Management Conclave here.He said India used to be known for higher education. "India had excellence in education for almost 1800 years, in fact, we were the leaders. From 600 B.C. to 1200 A.D, till institutions like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramshila were destroyed, India was leading in the field of higher education," the former president said.Stressing that good teachers don't just teach topics, but also foster research, the president gave an example of mathematician Vashishtha Narayan Singh, who obtained a PhD from the University of Berkeley despite his poor condition as he was encouraged by his teachers.Mukherjee said that the country's premier institutions IITs needed to do more than place their students in MNCs as there is a need to encourage them to go into the research field. (ANI)

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