BHUBANESWAR : Principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PK Mishra on Friday stressed the need for a welcoming and inclusive school environment to empower students from all backgrounds to pursue their dreams and aspirations.
“It is through diversity that we gain different perspectives and insights, enriching the learning experience for all”, said Mishra while addressing students at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) here. He commended KISS for working towards preserving, promoting and protecting tribal culture and values.
Mishra urged the students to pursue not only academic excellence but also all-round and holistic development. He commended KIIT for actively encouraging a sports culture and providing state-of-the-art infrastructure for various sports and fostering the physical and mental well-being of students.
Speaking on National Education Policy 2020, Mishra said it aims to create a second-to-none education system in India by 2040 with equitable access to the highest-quality education for all learners regardless of their social or economic background. On implementation of Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Mishra said it has a total budget of Rs 50,000 crore for five years out of which a major share is expected to come from non-government sources.
“ANRF will seed, grow, and promote research and development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, and research institutions by forging collaborations among industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions,” he informed.
Mishra threw light on the Union Budget which has provisions for setting up a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to help tech-savvy youth scale up research and innovation in sunrise domains. He said Kalinga institutes will have a significant role when the financial assistance is combined with the government’s commitment to pay utmost attention to making the eastern region a powerful driver of India’s growth story.