Emphasising the city’s ancient legacy as a pinnacle of cosmic science, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced that Ujjain is set to transition from a religious hub to a sophisticated ‘Science City’. Speaking at the inauguration of the international conference ‘Mahakal: The Master of Time’ on Friday, Yadav highlighted that long before the Prime Meridian at Greenwich was established, the zero-longitude line passed through Ujjain. He noted that Indian sages had mastered astronomical calculations and the movement of celestial bodies at a time when the West lacked basic astronomical knowledge. The Chief Minister stressed that the city’s soil is historically embedded with the principles of mathematics and universe contemplation, making it the natural center for global time calculation. The event marked a significant milestone with the inauguration of the newly-constructed Ujjain Science Center, built at a cost of over 15 crore.

 

This center features high-tech facilities including a ‘Gallery on Science’, an outdoor science park, and an innovation hub designed to foster scientific temperament among students. Additionally, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who joined the CM, advocated for the logical establishment of ‘Mahakal Standard Time’ (MST) over Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Pradhan remarked that ancient Indian knowledge traditions, such as the environmental management seen in Mahakal temple rituals, represent living laboratories where spirituality and science converge seamlessly. In preparation for the upcoming Simhastha 2028, the Chief Minister performed the bhoomipujan for development projects worth 725 crore, including a 19.80 km four-lane bypass road to facilitate the movement of nearly five lakh devotees. The expansion of the ‘Samrat Vikramaditya, The Heritage’ unit was also initiated to boost religious tourism. The leaders further interacted with students at a satellite-making workshop and launched the ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan’ website, signalling a robust push toward integrating traditional Indian knowledge with modern deep-tech sectors like AI and space economy to realise the vision of “Viksit Bharat @2047.”