Smart cities need smart leaders, industry and people. “We need to increase the revenue of the city and make it beautiful,” Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs, M. Venkaiah Naidu said here on Sunday.
Addressing the trade and industry, he said that Coimbatore has crossed 20 lakh population and better public transport is the need of the hour. The Centre will continue to support the needs of city. Since Coimbatore is one of the 20 cities selected for the Smart City project, he said a special purpose vehicle should be formed to take forward the project.
When the Union Government was formed 22 months ago, the fiscal situation was bad and manufacturing was at standstill, he said and spoke about the initiatives taken so far to bring in transparency, boost agriculture, build infrastructure, and encourage entrepreneurship.
Earlier, speaking at Kumaraguru College of Technology after inaugurating the student facilities centre, the Union Minister expressed the need to revisit the education system and curriculum. “Education should broaden the perspectives of students to understand the nuances of life,” he said.
According to him, ancient institutions in India focussed on developing the entire personality of individuals.
He expressed the need to incorporate moral education and sports in the curriculum.
He said children are badly influenced by films and foreign cultural practices, resulting in suicides. Students are even taking part in protests in support of anti-nationals and are organising events such as kiss-of-love.
“Education sector has become playground for commercial forces to collect exorbitant donations and high fees,” he said and asked them to diversify.
Heritage and culture are the greatest strengths of the nation. The younger generation should realise the importance of great leaders of their land and the values that they have left behind. He recollected the values left behind by freedom fighters and visionaries from Tamil Nadu. The life of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Bharathiar, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muthuramalinga Thevar can teach values to the younger generations and it has to be brought into the curriculum.
