SHILLONG: NITI Aayog member Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat on Friday asked students to empower their knowledge with honesty and integrity to serve the interest of the nation.
Addressing the 24th Convocation of the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) on Friday, Dr. Saraswat, a renowned scientist and former chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), advised the graduating students that their aspirations cannot be met if they do not work hard. As a citizen of this country, each and everyone should be responsible for the development of India, he added.
Emphasizing that knowledge is the foundation on which India needs to grow, Dr. Saraswat said India being a vast sub-continent has demographic advantages which need to be nurtured by giving opportunities to the young and talented minds.
Speaking on India’s growth, he said the country’s GDP was growing handsomely at 7.3 per cent per annum and expressed confidence that a strong workforce of 400-500 million youths will push India into the league of developed nations. On the flipside, he lamented that despite taking gigantic steps towards transforming itself into a developed nation, India still has around 300 million rural population which lives under the BPL margin and a huge number of children in the country still suffer from malnutrition.
Talking about technology, he said India is the second largest mobile user in the world but the penetration was only 34 per cent. Mobile internet can be of great help in the rural health care sector and other such requirements, he pointed out. He also stressed on the need to introduce project managing skills in the country to develop entrepreneurship.
A total of 8989 candidates received their degrees during the convocation ceremony. Besides certificates and degrees, specials awards were presented to meritorious students.
