Second convocation of NIT Meghalaya organised
SHILLONG: National Institute of Technology, Meghalaya, on Monday held its 2nd Convocation where over 80 students were conferred the degree of Bachelor of Technology in the three branches of Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
In his address to the graduate students, Dr. Krishanaswamy Kasturiranagan, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, praised the beauty as well as the hospitality of the people in the eight Northeastern states and also spoke highly of the varied cultures, religions and customs, of which he said, “The like of which we can rarely see elsewhere, this ideal setting to inspire the young minds to indulge in creative thinking and platform to the peaks of excellence.”
“Never lose sight of your goals. The country is in need of a new breed of innovators and entrepreneurs,” he advised the students.
He took the students on a journey of India’s space exploration, through the launch of the GSLV, Remote Sensing System (IRS), and finally, India’s journey to Mars with Mangalyaan, impressing them on the need of teamwork. “Teamwork has been the secret of success in our space programme, with which I had the privilege of long association, from the time of its inception,” he said.
Commenting on India’s economic development, Dr. Kasturirangan said, “As a country, we are at a crossroad. India with a GDP of $2 trillion in 2015 is the 10th largest economy in the world, if we achieve a high sustained Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, by 2017, India could overtake France, UK and Brazil to become the 5th largest economy.”
“It is expected, that by 2030, our share of world GDP will increase to about 6 per cent amounting to $10 trillion and will surpass Japan to become the third largest economy in the world, while the workforce in India is expected to increase by 32 per cent over the next 20 years while it is going to decrease in most of the industrialized countries,” he observed, adding, “In order to capitalize this demographic dividend, we need to create an environment conducive to the growth of the economy which will in turn employ quality opportunities.”
“Nevertheless, the country is in the middle of a start-up boom as many professionals are responding to the ingenious demands, which is linked to Indian innovation,” he added.