Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Sports Shri Anurag Thakur today released a book ‘Loktantra ke Swar’ and ‘The Republican Ethic’ having selected speeches of the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind. This the fourth volume of the series featuring the fourth year of presidency of Shri Ram Nath Kovind. The compilation contains speeches on a wide range of subjects. E-books were also released on the occasion. Minister of State for Education, Shri Subhas Sarkar; Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbanry & Dairying, Dr. L. Murugan also graced the event. Secretary to the President, Shri K. D Tripathi; Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Higher Education Shri Sanjay Murthy, senior officials of the President’s Secretariat, Education Ministry and Information and Broadcasting Ministry were present on the occasion. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the compilation of speeches by the President of India Shri Ramnath Kovind in his 4th year in office is a good barometer for the state of the nation. The Minister highlighted that this book captures President’s thoughts on varied topics such as public service, ethics, education, aspirations of our youth, contemporary global issues. The book will enrich public discourse and serve as guiding light towards taking India forward in the Amrit Kaal, he added. The Minister also suggested that the educational institutions should engage students in discussions and debates on the relevant topics elucidated by President in his speeches. Shri Pradhan said that the President in his speeches, while aptly covering the soul of India, it’s civilisational wealth and culture, has also laid the vision for the future. Speaking about NEP 2020, he has rightly called for achieving the twin vision of inclusion and excellence in education. Quite in reflection of his awareness of the needs of the common people, the President appreciated the National Education Policy 2020 with these words: “The NEP aims to re-orient our education system towards meeting the needs of the 21st century. It sets the vision of developing and equitable and vibrant knowledge society by providing quality education to all. This calls for achieving the twin objectives of inclusion and excellence”. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Anurag Thakur said that our nation is undergoing a significant transition and transformation as we mark ‘Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and look to leap into the future, envisioning our journey towards India’s 100th Independence Day. He said that the speeches of the President of India are part of our heritage – preserving for posterity the vision, the aspirations and the achievements of the nation, reflected in the wise words of our Head of the State. He said that through his speeches, President has captured the essence and flavour of India in all its hues. He terms President’s speeches timeless and window to the journey of India during this period Shri Thakur expressed satisfaction at the Publication Division of Ministry of Informantion and Broadcasting successfully completing this prestigious assignment and congratulated all stakeholders involved in the process. Shri Anurag Thakur said that in a very short span of time in office, the President has made a distinct mark in the way he reaches out to the common citizens of this country, touching the chord of emotions, expectations and aspirations of our fellow citizens. He outlined various topics dealt with in this book and said that these volumes will be timeless for future generations looking to understand the Presidency and the journey of India during this period. This volume contains the speeches delivered by the President on numerous occasions during the fourth year of his presidency. The compilation includes a wide range of speeches that touch the diverse facets of the nation’s life. A total of 38 speeches have been selected and categorized into eight sections. These are : (i) Addressing the Nation, (ii) Educating India, Equipping India, (iii) Dharma of Public Service, (iv) Honouring Our Sentinels,(v) Spirit of the Constitution and Law, (vi) Acknowledging Excellence, (vii) Moral Exemplars, Guiding Lights, and (viii) Window to the World. In this volume, The President expresses his inner most thoughts on issues and personalities. As the world came to a standstill and taking a grip as a fall-out to the Covid-19 pandemic, the President Kovind led by example. He had more virtual speeches than the public ones. If the troubled times called for resolute and united action and strategy, the President followed the set norms. Staying within the precincts of Rashtrapati Bhavan, he showed how the exigencies of the ‘new normal’ could be tackled being in sync with nature.

A two-day Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities and Directors of Institutions of National Importance concluded today. The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the conference on 7th June, 2022.

The Conference was attended by Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan; Minister of State for Education Shri Subhas Sarkar; Advisor to the Prime Minister, Shri Amit Khare; Secretary, Higher Education Shri Sanjay Murthy: Chairman UGC, Chairman AICTE, Chairperson, NCVET, Heads of Central Universities/Institutes of Higher Learning and senior officials from the Ministry of Education and the President Secretariat.

In his concluding remarks, Shri Pradhan expressed gratitude to the President of India for his participation and guidance in the Visitor’s Conference. He said that the age of incremental change is gone and called upon higher educational institutes to target exponential growth towards building future-ready workforce. Speaking about the challenges and opportunities in the new world propelled by technology, he said that Indian has shown its technological prowess in various initiatives like UPI, Direct Benefit Transfer, Aadhar and the we must build upon this strength and make a future-ready workforce to embrace the changes arising out of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Speaking about entrepreneurship, he mentioned the rising number of unicorns in the country as an indicator of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and called for preparing the students to be job givers and not only job seekers. The Minister also spoke about various initiatives taken by the Government in the realm of digital education and called for leveraging technology to further  decolonize education. He also called for further strengthening alumni network and engage efforts being taken in the area of internationalization of education in India, including the Study in India program.

In different sessions, the Conference deliberated on various topics such as – International rankings of Higher Education Institutions; collaboration between Academia-Industry and policymakers; Integrating School, Higher and Vocational education; Education and Research in emerging and disruptive technologies.

On the second day of the conference, Mr. Nunzio Quacquarelli, Founder and CEO, QS ranking gave a presentation on International rankings of Higher Education Institutions: Indian Universities in QS World University Rankings. It included suggestions on how Indian institutions can improve their performance and attain better world rankings. The moderation by Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur was very evident and articulated comprehensively on how our institutions have been working towards the path of progress. He said that India has improved its performance in the Global rankings at an overall level.

The other presentations were made by Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director IIT Kharagpur, Shri Yogesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Delhi University, and Shri V. Kamakothi, Director IIT Madras, and moderated respectively by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Standing Committee of IIT Council, Dr. N. S. Kalsi, Chairman, National Council for Vocational Education and Training(NCVET) and Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE).

Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari in his presentation on the topic of Collaboration between Academia-Industry and Policy Makers gave an insight into the idea when academia, industry, and policymakers work together, universities can become powerful engines for knowledge, employment, and innovation. The presentation was moderated by Shri K.Radhakrishnan.

In the other session, while presenting the topic Integrating School, Higher & Vocational Education, Prof. Yogesh Singh mentioned several steps taken by the University of Delhi like formulating UGCF 2022 to provide holistic education from 2022-23 onwards, implementing NEP, etc. Shri N.S.Kalsi, Chairman, NCVET moderated the session.

In the last session, Shri V. Kamakothi in his presentation on the topic of Education and Research In Emerging and Disruptive Technologies discussed the potential and need for Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Simulation and Modeling, Secure Systems, and Intelligent Manufacturing. The presentation was moderated by Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE.

The President is the Visitor of 161 Central Institutes of Higher Education. Out of 161 institutes, 53 attended the Conference physically while others are connected virtually. The President also hosted and honored some of donors, whose generous contribution has helped in building up a culture of “giving back” and promoting the objective of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” in Central higher education institutions.

In his vote of thanks, Minister of State for Education Shri Subhas Sarkar expressed gratitude to the President to invite all the participants to the Visitor’s conference and give an opportunity to meet in person after two difficult years that the world had to go through owing to the pandemic. He also expressed gratitude to  Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan for guiding through the process of organization of this conference. He also thanked Vice-Chancellors of all Central Universities and Directors of IITs/ NITs, Secretary (Higher Education), officials of the President’s Secretariat, Ministry, UGC and AICTE and other officials who participated in the conference.

He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate a progressive independent India, culturally rich heritage, and achievements of India, which is also an ode to the freedom fighters. He lauded the various presentations made during the conference on different issues and themes concerning higher education and outlining various initiatives taken in the space. The National Education Policy 2020 places huge importance on the industry-academia collaboration to drive innovation and research in our educational institutions, he further added. The Minister also thanked the donors and expressed confidence that all institutions will continue to work hard towards establishing institutions as benchmarks for others to follow.

Source:PIB