In a rather personal speech to graduating students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Science, President Pranab Mukherjee said he was “deeply satisfied” that his last visit was to the institute that has made India proud.
He was in the city for the convocation ceremony of IISc on Wednesday during which 625 students were given degrees and 52 awarded medals for their academic performance.
Through his speech, Mr. Mukherjee drew his connections to the country’s premier science institution. He told the students that when he was entering the teaching profession, one of his inspirations was J.C. Ghosh, who after a stint as the IISc Director was the first director of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
He even ended his speech with an apology to the IISc Director Anurag Kumar for having “deviated” from his written speech and was against the “practise” in the convocation.
‘Develop research’
Mr. Mukherjee sought to put the focus on developing research within the country. “For too long, academia and industry have neglected research. Unless we make investment in basic research, we cannot make further progress,” he said.
Similarly, he warned that the advantages that India possessed during the early days of the Information Technology growth was diminishing, while challenges of global competition were increasing. “We require excellent teachers, bright students, conducive atmosphere...good laboratories that keep pace with rapidly-changing technology,” said Mr. Mukherjee.
Quality of education was a recurring theme of his speech, as he said unless we skill the youth, the country’s demographic dividend - in which, by 2020, more than 50% of the population will be below the age of 25 years - will turn into demographic liability.
Governor says take inspiration from North Korea
Earlier, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala said students needed to take inspiration from the scientific successes of small nations, including North Korea. “We should take inspiration from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), from Israel, from Japan and any other nation, including North Korea which is progressing in Atomic Energy,” he said.
It may be recalled that the Atomic energy programme of North Korea has seen the United Nations, most nations including India, impose sanctions.
Published - July 05, 2017 05:50 pm IST
