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The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the two-day Visitor’s Conference 2024-25 at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (March 3, 2025). The President of India is the Visitor of 184 Central Institutes of Higher Education.
In her inaugural address, the President said that the level of development of any country is reflected in the quality of its education system. She told the heads of the institutions of higher learning that they have a crucial role in achieving the goal of establishing India as an important centre of the knowledge economy. She highlighted the need to pay a lot of attention to research along with education. She said that the Government of India has established the National Research Fund with a very good objective. She expressed confidence that institutions of higher learning would make good use of this important initiative and encourage research.
The President said that the ambition of our higher education community should be that researchers from our institutions get recognition at the world level, patents of our institutions can bring change in the world, and students from developed countries choose India as a preferred destination for higher education.
The President said that students from India enrich the world’s leading educational institutions and developed economies with their talent. She emphasised the need of making efforts to utilize their talent in our country. She stated that our national goal of establishing India as a Global Knowledge Super Power would be achieved only when the world community is eager to adopt the work being done in our laboratories.
The President said that many higher education institutions of our country have global brand value. The students of these institutions get big responsibilities in the best institutions and companies of the world. However, all our institutions should move ahead very fast. The leadership of heads of institutions of higher learning would be recognised by developing and utilising the immense talent of our large youth population.
The President said that along with excellence, social inclusion and sensitivity should also be an essential aspect of our education system. No economic, social, or psychological limitation of any kind should be a hindrance in getting higher education. She said that heads and teachers of institutions of higher learning should take care of young students, remove any insecurity from their minds and provide them moral and spiritual strength. She urged them to make every possible effort to provide counselling and inspiration to students and spread positive energy in the campuses.
The President said that our country has a rich tradition of scientific achievements. The branches and sub-branches of Indian knowledge and science have flourished in every region of the country. It would be very useful to rediscover the invaluable but extinct streams of knowledge and science by doing intense research. She stated that it is the responsibility of the higher education ecosystem to find ways to use such organically grown knowledge systems in today’s context.
The President said that educational institutions shape the future of the nation. Young students learn from the conduct of our policy makers, teachers, heads of institutions, and senior students. She expressed confidence that with their global thinking, the heads of higher learning institutions would prepare a generation of builders of a developed India.
During the inaugural session, the President presented the eighth Visitor’s Awards in the categories of Innovation, Research, and Technology Development.
· The Visitor’s Award for Innovation was given to Prof Saripella Srikrishna, Banaras Hindu University, for developing Novel Indigenous Innovation in Quantum Technology to boost the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
· The Visitor’s Award for Research in the field of Physical Sciences was conferred upon Prof Ashwini Kumar Nangia, University of Hyderabad, for his seminal research in the discovery and development of high bioavailability drugs and pharmaceuticals with enhanced efficacy at affordable cost.
· The Visitor’s Award for Research in Biological Sciences was jointly presented to Prof Rina Chakrabarti, University of Delhi and Prof Raj Kumar, Central University of Punjab. Prof Chakrabarti has been conferred the Award for her research contributions to Sustainable Freshwater Aquaculture while Prof Raj Kumar has been presented the Award for his research contributions to exploring various cancer hallmarks and the development of synthetic anticancer lead molecules.
· The Visitor’s Award for Technology Development was presented to Dr Venkateswarlu Chintala, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, for his research contributions to the petrol and diesel production at commercial scale from landfill municipal mixed plastic waste.
Tomorrow, the Conference will deliberate on issues such as – Flexibility in academic courses, Credit Sharing and Credit Transfer with multiple entry and exit options; Internationalisation efforts and collaboration; Translation Research and Innovation related to converting research or innovation into useful products and services; Effective student selection processes and respecting student choices in context of NEP; and Effective assessments and evaluation. The outcome of these deliberations will be presented before the President in the closing session of the Conference.
Please click here to see the President’s Speech –
Source: PIB
