NEW DELHI, Dec 18
President Droupadi Murmu Monday rued that not a single campus in the country ranked in the top 50 educational institutions of the world.
Addressing the 69th annual convocation of IIT-Kharagpur, the President said, “It is a matter of concern that not even a single educational institution of such a vast country with the world’s oldest knowledge tradition is among the top 50 educational institutions of the world. The race for ranking is not more important than imparting a good education. However, good ranking not only attracts students and good faculty from all over the world but also increases the reputation of the country. Therefore, I would like that IIT Kharagpur, being the oldest IIT in the country, should make efforts in this direction.”
President Murmu also congratulated over 3,200 students who received their degrees at the convocation and hoped for better participation of women in the field of science and technology. “I congratulate all the 3,205 students who received degrees today for their bright future. I have found that today about 21 per cent of those receiving degrees are daughters.
I give them special congratulations. I believe that greater participation of women in the field of science and technology is necessary for a healthy and strong society,” she said. Meanwhile, the President emphasised the use of technology for promoting social justice and equality. She also lauded the digital payment systems technology for simplifying the lives of people.
“I have said before that everyone should have a right to technology. It should be used for the purpose of promoting social justice and equality and not to widen the gap in society. Digital Payment System Technology is the best example of simplifying the lives of common people. Today, even the smallest shopkeepers are using digital payment for very small amounts,” she said. “You all know that by the year 2047… we have set the goal of making India a developed nation. Keeping this vision in mind, the Government of India is moving ahead with the idea of inclusive growth.
You people have to play an important role in making the 21st century the century of India through innovation and technology. You have to make revolutionary efforts to develop and bring technology to the ground,” she added.
IIT Kharagpur director V K Tewari, chairman of board governors T V Narendran, state minister Manas Bhunia, and other dignitaries were present at the event.
This year, IIT Kharagpur bestowed the DSc Honoris Causa to reputed Sanskrit scholar Mahamahopadhyaya Bhadreshdas Swami, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, electrical engineering entrepreneur Ravinder Nath Khanna and entrepreneur Ajit Jain. The Lifetime Achievement Award-2023 was bestowed upon Prof Ramchandra Prabhakar Gokarn.
Eight Life Fellow Awardees of the Institute were Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Prof Ravikumar Bhaskaran, Prof Prem Vrat, Dr Samir V Kamat, Shri ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, Dr V Narayanan, Dr Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, and Dr Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe. Nine students were awarded the Institute gold medals in their respective fields of study.
