MUMBAI: Noted lyricist Gulzar has been appointed as 'Tagore Professor of Indian Literature' at Panjab University in Chandigarh.

The appointment was approved by the PU syndicate, the institution's decision-making body, on Sunday.

"Panjab University Syndicate today (Sunday) decided to appoint noted film personality, litterateur and Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee Gulzar, as the 'Tagore Professor of Indian Literature' at the university," a PU spokesman said.

The PU syndicate also approved to recommend honorary degree of Doctor of Sciences to Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman of information technology giant HCL.

It also approved to recommend honorary degree of Doctor of Literature to PU alumnus and Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah.

The syndicate also approved to recommend the name of corporate czar Y.C. Daveshwar, chairman of ITC, for the Panjab University Udyog Rattan.

PU alumnus and legendary hockey player Balbir Singh Senior has been recommended as the first recipient of the Panjab University Khel Ratna award.

Established in 1882 in Lahore in Pakistan, PU is one of the oldest universities in the country. It was re-located to its present sprawling campus in Chandigarh's Sector 14 and 25, in 1956 after partition in August 1947.

Noted alumna include former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and I.K. Gujral, former president Shankar Dayal Sharma, Nobel laureate Hargobind Khorana, astronaut Kalpana Chawla, first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra, actor Anupam Kher, singer Jagjit Singh, actor-comedian Jaspal Bhatti, Jnanpith award winner and Sanskrit scholar Satya Vrat Shastri, union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former union ministers Kapil Sibal, Kumari Selja and Pawan Kumar Bansal, first Nobel laureate from Pakistan Mohammed Abdus Salam among others.