BENGALURU: President Droupadi Murmu said during her time spent as Jharkhand governor and President, she had noticed that the country’s daughters are performing exceptionally well in universities and are contributing in every field of life.
She was speaking at the second convocation of Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence at Chikkaballapur on Monday. “Our daughters have bagged the top four positions in this year’s civil services. This is an indication that our daughters perform better than our sons when given equal opportunities,” she said. She also quipped, “This is just the trailer, the movie is still left.”
Being a first-generation literate herself, she highlighted that by providing free-of-cost education, talented students from economically weaker sections can get the opportunities they need to complete their higher education studies and contribute to the nation.
Commenting on accessible healthcare, Murmu said the government is taking special interest towards this goal. “Quality health services are a basic requirement for the progress of any society and country. The government is making special efforts to ensure this. The world’s largest health insurance scheme is being run in India from which many poor families benefit,” she said.
Meanwhile, addressing students during the convocation, Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot commended the college for their service to society in providing free education, nutrition and medical care. He added that the next 25 years are ‘Amrit Kaal’ or a period of duty, and urged students to actively participate in public life and work towards an inclusive, self-reliant India.
This year, the varsity had 52 per cent of students coming from rural backgrounds. A record 64 per cent of graduates this year are female students and 11 of them received gold medals.
HONORARY DOCTORATES
Prof Ajay K Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India (science and technology); Dr R K Padmanabha, Ganakala Bhushana and Carnatic music vocalist (music and art); Pullela Gopichand, national coach of the Indian badminton team (sports and fitness); Dr Pratima Murthy, Director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (healthcare); vedic scholar and Padma Shri awardee Prof Vijay Shankar Shukla, faculty member of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts for Education (education), and Tulsi Gowda, Padma Shri awardee and environmentalist (social service and philanthropy) were awarded honorary doctorates on Monday.