‘All should get safe drinking water at a minimum cost’

DRDO official says 5% of India’s population is deprived of safe water

DINDIGUL

The country should focus on providing safe drinking water at a minimum cost to all people at the earliest. It should also focus more on developing high-strength and low-weight materials, according to P. Sivakumar, Director, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Delivering the 29th Graduation Day address at P.S.N.A. College of Engineering and Technology here on Sunday, he said the country had the largest number of people in the world without access to safe water. Approximately 7.6 crore people – 5% of the total population – were deprived of safe water. In developed countries, the standard water bill was just 0.1% of the income of the people earning the minimum wages. But people in India had to spend 17% of their income to get minimum water supply every day, he said.

Now, the country had started realising that the large population meant a tremendous human resource potential. Only through education, a person could realise his full potential, learn values of life and work for his growth and the growth of nation.

It was the responsibility of the country, schools and colleges to convert this huge population into human resource. Education system should ensure that the human resource built its scientific and technological capabilities, he stressed.

Technology, science and invention had progressed at an accelerated pace in India than in any other country in the 20th century. The 21st century also witnessed growth and inventions in many fields, including medicine, health care, information technology, agriculture, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Improving the efficiency of these fields was very important. Developing new materials was the need of the hour, he said.

Mr. Sivakumar advised graduates to give top priority to major issues for the development of their career and life. They should seize opportunities to meet the challenges of the future with innovation and creative ideas and help the country become a developed one.

He honoured 46 university rank holders with medals and gave degree certificates to 467 graduates.