Over 1.73 lakh digital degrees were awarded to successful students at Delhi University’s 98th annual convocation here on Saturday. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the chief guest at the ceremony, conferred 197 medals on students; a record number of 802 doctoral degrees were also awarded.
In his address to the students and staff, Mr. Singh said, “Our dream is to make India Jagat Guru. We want to make the country powerful, rich, knowledgeable and have values. India is the only country that has never attacked or occupied one inch land of any other country,” he said. India’s power, the Minister added, was meant for the welfare of the world and not to scare anyone. He congratulated the students and their families and called upon the youth to take a pledge to refrain from engaging in any activity that is against the interests of the country.
Delhi University will release the digital degrees with blockchain security through Samarth eGov, an initiative that aims at equipping Indian central universities and other higher education institutions with information systems for process automation and e-governance. The university completes 100 years on May 1 this year, according to its Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, who presided over the event. Last year, Delhi University became the first institution in the country to award digital degrees to 1,78,719 students.