New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Hyderabad, is to confer an honorary doctorate on Minister Of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju for his 'outstanding achievements and contribution towards technology and academic excellence'.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Narayan Dutt Tiwari, who is also the chancellor of the university, will confer the doctorate at a ceremony in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Pallam Raju said he feels 'privileged' to be honoured by one of India's premier technological institutes.

The JNTU is the first technological university of India created by legislation of the Andhra Pradesh assembly in 1972. It has been accorded Grade 'A' status by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.

'JNTU has produced highly professional and competitive engineers, arming them with appropriate skills for the rapid pace of industrialization in the country,' a defence ministry statement on Tuesday said.

Headed by Vice Chancellor K. Rajagopal, the university offers many programmes leading to post-graduate degrees and lays emphasis on R&D activities.

Pallam Raju, 46, is an electronics and communications engineering graduate from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and an MBA from Templeton University, Philadelphia.

He began his career as a computer and IT engineer in the US and Norway before stepping into politics when he became the youngest MP in the ninth Lok Sabha in 1989.

A fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers (IETE), Pallam Raju served as the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on IT between August 2004 and January 2006. IANS