CHENNAI: Institutes like IITs have a major role in making India a $5 trillion economy and fulfilling the vision of Viksit Bharat, said union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday during his visit to IIT Madras. “The next 25 years are very important for all of us.
While entering the Amrit kaal, we leapfrogged ahead of a country that colonised us. India is evolving at an unprecedented pace. A fast-growing India will have huge domestic requirements which have to be fulfilled by our IITs,” he added.
Pradhan further said that IITs are not just educational institutions, they are the temples to create a scientific temper and shape humanity’s future. Pradhan also urged the students to innovate, bring social change, file patents for the public good and facilitate the ease of living for the poorest.
“Our students need to rekindle their inner strengths, reignite their ‘Chetna’. The students have to think big, drive social change and become job-providers rather than job-seekers,” Pradhan said. The Union minister highlighted that society has great expectations from IITs and the IITians have to be torchbearers of growth and development.
During his visit, Pradhan participated in a series of events at IIT Madras. He released the Strategic Plan 2021-27 of IIT Madras which proposed an ambitious growth phase for the Institute. He also launched ‘Kotak IITM Save Energy’ Mission, being set up with CSR funding support from Kotak to help MSMEs reduce energy consumption and felicitated the Mphasis team for supporting the growth of the Centre for Quantum Information, Communication and Computing (CQuICC) besides flagging off other projects and initiatives of IIT Madras.
He also awarded the diploma certificates to select students of BSc program in Data Science. The union minister also visited the 5G Test bed for a demonstration, at the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Development Centre, the Rocket Factory of IIT Madras-based Start-up Agnikul Cosmos, Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre and the IIT Madras Incubation Cell at the IIT Madras Research Park apart from other research facilities such as Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre and the 3D-printed house in the campus.
After visiting the facilities, Pradhan lauded the initiatives of the IIT Madras. He said that the day is not far when the whole world will come to IIT Madras to benefit from the Brain Research Centre. Ideas, like 3D-printing technology can revolutionise construction, help address the issues of displacement and give a life of dignity to the poor.