The nine-day International Congress of Mathematics (ICM) began here on Thursday at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. ICM is an international conference held every four years and attracts 200 leading mathematicians for presenting research talks and participating in panel discussions.
President of India, Pratibha Patil, who inaugurated the event, stressed the need for promoting mathematics among the young generation as it was necessary for all walks of life -engineering, science, industry, finance or social sciences.
Patil said mathematics inculcated rational thought and promoted scientific temper. Economics and social sciences were increasingly coming under the influence of mathematics.