Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu underscored the need for development of knowledge and skills of the youth in order to reap the advantage of the country’s demographic dividend and achieve accelerated economic growth.
Delivering the convocation address of Vikrama Simhapuri University here on Tuesday, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu expressed confidence that the trained and educated human capital would play an important role in achieving the Central government’s goal of making the country a USD 5 trillion dollar economy in the coming years.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu emphasised the need to step up investments in education from the current 4.6% of GDP to 6%, as recommended by NITI Aayog.
“Indian universities should emerge as the hotspots of research, incubation and innovation,” the Vice-President said, calling for a strong research ecosystem through collaborative, inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research initiatives.
The Vice-President lamented that India’s expenditure on R&D has stagnated. “One reason for this is low investments by the private sector in research and development,. The private sector should spend a reasonable share on R&D and join hands with universities,” he said, calling on the corporate sector to create a separate corpus to promote cutting edge research in higher education institutions and universities.
Maintaining that universities must maintain close interaction with the industry, the Vice-President called for creating the right ecosystem for research to thrive. “It should be remembered that ultimately every scientific outcome must benefit the society,” he said.
He called for reorientation of the education system and improving the quality of teaching and research in institutions of higher education.
In this context, he noted with concern that none of the Indian universities has figured among the top 100 universities of the world in a recent survey.
‘Glorious past’
“India was once known as the centre of learning, and knowledge-seekers from all over the world used to come and study at renowned learning centres like Nalanda and Takshashila. Our students must draw inspiration from our glorious past to create a magnificent future,” he said.
He asked the private universities to consider the education as a mission and as an investment in the future of the country and not merely treat it as a business opportunity. ''Private universities need to focus on ensuring inclusiveness and deploy more resources to educate children belonging to the under-privileged sections of the society”, he added.
The Vice-President also asked students to spare their time for societal obligations. He appreciated Vikrama Simhapuri University’s concept of ‘College to Village’ in this regard.
Governor and VSU Chancellor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan conferred degrees to the graduating students.
