VISAKHAPATNAM: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Central and the State governments should work together as a team for comprehensive development of the country. “The nation cannot progress without the support of the states,” he said. He was speaking at an an interactive session with the students of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) at the AU Engineering College on Thursday evening.
On the occasion, Venkaiah emphasised the need to bridge the gap between rural and urban India to bring the fruits of development to the ruralites. “Connectivity is crucial in developing the rural India. The ‘Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana’ (PMSY) has been designed to increase the rural connectivity for better market facilities to the agricultural products,” he added. The Vice-President said that the solar energy would be a solution for India’s growing energy needs. He further said that the “IIPE intends to promote quality and excellence in education and research in petroleum and hydrocarbons. It plans to fill the skill gap in the oil and natural gas exploration sector.”
“Industrialisation, rapid urbanisation, rising income levels and other factors are spurring demand for oil and gas. India has 18% of the world population and the per capita energy consumption is estimated to be about 5.5 % of the world’s energy. Every Indian citizen aspires for better living standard and hence the requirement of energy is bound to increase in India,” he said.
Kalpana Chawla Lab at AU
Visakhapatnam: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu recollected his hostel days during his student life in Andhra University. On Thursday, he inaugurated the Kalpana Chawla Laboratory set up at Andhra University Women Engineering College. The lab was constructed at a cost of H2 crore in 10,000 sq feet area in a complex of four labs for the departments of Electrical, Civil and Mechanical engineering. On Friday, the V-P will inaugurate new computer lab and RO water plant at AU English Medium School.