Text of Vice-President’s speech at IIT Jodhpur
Text of Vice-President’s speech at IIT Jodhpur
Good afternoon all of you!
Honourable Union Minister for Tourism and Culture and Member Parliament from Jodhpur constituency, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Honourable Minister for Department of Law, Government of Rajasthan, Shri Jogaram Patel, Professor A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman Board of Governors, IIT, Jodhpur, Shri Dr. Ram Madhav, President, India Foundation, an author and a very creative person.
Most important, your Director, Professor Avinash Kumar Agarwal, distinguished members of the faculty, as faculty with the final strength of any institution much beyond infrastructure. Proud parents who happen to be present here, members of the staff and my dear students.
Congratulations to all those who are recipient of medal and otherwise. Convocations are landmarks in an institution’s journey as they bid farewell to their finest minds into the service of society. Same is the mindset of passing out students who will frog leap into the larger public domain duly armoured by the training they have received in this great institution. On this occasion, on the occasion of imparting a convocation address, they invite society and community leaders to impart some final words of advice and wisdom to graduates or those passing out.
I stand before you in this immense capacity, an obligation very difficult to discharge. By very nature, it is a daunting task. It is difficult to come up with the expectations of the brilliant students who are keen to get something new.
So don’t be disappointed. Nobility comes very rarely. I am not going to impart something very amazing. Friends, it is satisfying to witness this institution, IIT Jodhpur, striving in my home state, Rajasthan. Jodhpur has emerged as a major centre for learning with an IIT and aims and a National Law University. It is not just Jodhpur alone.
Institutions of national importance are continually doting our landscape for over a decade or so across the nation. This educational spread out defines, in a sense, our continual developmental journey, at the root of which are the roots of the society, that is, to nurture our young minds. Education is a fundamental premise of transformation and growth.
Bharat is undergoing a much-needed affirmative transformation. There has been geometric growth in the education sector. If I reflect on my times, or our times, which means the times of those who are on the dais, there was no level playing field, no affirmative policies, no institutional fiscal support. Today, you are living in Bharat, where your character and merit matter more than your last name. Something that was unthinkable a decade or so ago. You can learn, excel, be a part of an institution like IIT, fulfill your dreams and aspirations, contribute to your family, to society and the nation at large.
My young friends, Bharat has become a land of endless opportunities and hope. I say so because, in the International Monetary Fund, a global institutional repute has indicated to global fraternity that India is the favourite global destination of investment and opportunities.
Today, the world wants to participate in our growth story. Today, our global partners want to friendshore their supply chains in this country. A change that should be soothing to my young friends. More importantly, this transformation is penetrating every corner of the country that was either too considered obscure. We are having plateau kind of a development, not pyramidical. There was an environment, and I say with utmost restraint, a restraint which I can command on this occasion, less time is understood. There was an environment of doom and gloom, not very long ago.
When I say so, I mean for our youth, the most vital stakeholders in democracy and governance. There was a state where we had a stale and outdated mentality of resistance, and this resistance was reflected whenever there was a big change for the better. Where there was affirmative stance, let me give an instance.
When the government was pushing for UPI, all of you know it. Some thought this would never be accepted in India. Some people are recipe for failure, recipe for negativity.
They find it extremely difficult to be positively approached. We must never underestimate the genius of our people. Our DNA is very strong. And look how UPI has revolutionised the way we transact in this country. Everyone has come to know about it, how widespread is its impact. More importantly, my young friends, UPI has found acceptance beyond our shores.
Indeed, a success story we must all be proud of.
My young friends, we are the global disruptors when it comes to digital economy. Every day, 466 million digital transactions happen in India, on an average. Daily digital transactions in this country are over 466 million. And that is more than the population of any given country in the world, except China. This is our accomplishment.Unprecedented, unparalleled. We should be proud of it. Not far ago, who would have imagined that this country would set a template of technological adaptation and transformation for others to follow? My young friends, this transformation has been enabled by creating a conducive environment, providing right incentives, investing in human resources, and overall ease of aspiring.
Businesses and corporates think of ease of doing business. What we have created in Bharat in two decades in this centennial, what we have created is an ease for everyone to aspire, everyone to dream big, and to pursue their goals. To my young friends, I have been looking around for the last decade, young boys and girls like you, who stepped out of our IITs, IIMs, and other institutions. You have created wonders they never thought of. And therefore, right time for you to dream, aspire, and take a big leap. I should only admit, this is a journey, much has to be done, much remains to be done.
I am alive to it. We talk, as the Honourable Minister reflected, we are a large economy, we never thought we would be one.
From fragile pipe economies, we have traversed to deep pipe economies, and we are becoming third largest. But we have to keep our feet on the ground. You are discerning minds, you are thinking minds, you must know the challenges. The challenge is, we have to grow our per capita income eightfold.
We have to become a developed nation by 2047, when we have our centennial celebrations of independence. Eightfold increase is reachable, achievable, because I have young boys and girls before me who can do it. I have no doubt they will do it. And this is required because in this country, we have to create meaningful employment, high up in the value chain. We are aligned to the situation that there have to be employment avenues. The avenues have to increase incrementally.
I will appeal to our youth and minds to get out of the silos of normal opportunity. Your basket is increasing. My young friends, history suggests that countries that grow remain stuck in the middle income trap.
It is very rarely nations break this mould. Look all around, study the history of last four or five decades. You will know that there is a trap, middle income trap.
We will have to collectively aspire to move from low to middle to high until every Bharatiya is touched by the glow of prosperity. That journey, my young friends, is on. That marathon march is going on.
Everyone is a stakeholder contributing in this yagya by his or her healthy. Our biggest strength, an angle of the world. This is one strength Bharat possesses home to one-sixth of humanity, which is envied by world.
And that is, before me, our demographic advantage, it should not be filtered away. It is an asset that contributes to the overall well-being of society. I must indicate to my young friends, demographic can be boon if its growth is organic.
Any artificial intervention, or any linear intervention with a strategy can be disastrous, especially in a democracy. But when this demography, my young friends, is wedded to technology and innovation, nations rise and rise. They rise to begin with this incremental it takes the shape of vertical, and that is bound to happen in this country.
IITs, your institution, institutions like yours, are playing a major role in this transformation for which India had waited for very long. We have heard and we have enjoyed, traditionally. Takshila, Nalanda, Mithila, Vallabhi, Vikramshila, and many more.These ancient institutions, epicentres of knowledge and learning, were hallmarks of educational accomplishments.
After a long gap, on account of affirmative government policies, proactive steps, IITs are emerging as new centres. Remember, whenever the history of Pax Indica will be written, there will be a chapter on technological transformation. Your institutions and alike will be the central stage. And in that chapter, I can assure you, IITs, including yours, will have a profound place of pride. Be proud of your association and insignia.
The world wants IITs to operate on their soil. They come to this country, world leaders solicit IIT premises on their sovereign lands. The first two international campuses in Abu Dhabi and Zanzibar were opened recently. More will follow. This is not a small development. It’s a big development that the world has started looking up to India, as it did centuries ago, for knowledge, wisdom, profound faculty.
The credit goes to you all, the directors, the chairman of board of governors, and the students for making IIT a globally recognised brand. My young friends, innovation is another feature of our rise. You know it more than I do.
We have to innovate. Innovation has to be from within. We can’t depend on others. If we depend on others, we will not be crucible of big change. India has now emerged as the world’s third largest startup ecosystem with over 1.25 lakh startups and 110 unicorns. I have no doubt, my young friends, we need more unicorns.
Unicorns are there. We must have our own system. Indicorns-The world must recognise this term, that Bharatiya is origin, but global in their footprint. We have started in this country, and people at that point of time did not take it in the right spirit.
Making India for the world. We are so engaged now. My young friends, what is even more inspiring is that India’s startup ecosystem is no longer limited to metro cities. There was a time, tier two cities, tier three cities, our rural situations were not looked at as centres of creativity. One had to flock to metros, but now the situation has totally changed.
It has become a social culture spreading across the length and breadth of the country, and that is why in this country we had great ideas. We had aspirational districts, smart cities, all these were aimed only to ensure that young boys and girls living anywhere get a level playing field. You might already know this, but Jodhpur currently boasts over 300 recognised startups.
I will appeal to young boys and girls, also please understand the advantages of a startup. The fiscal advantages, the subsidy advantage, the taxation advantage, and then you go, at the root of it you will find so much attention has been bestowed that fiscal advantage accrues at a time chosen by the one who has initiated himself or herself in the startup. I am being told that in your IIT there is a technology incubation centre and that is incubating over 20 startups.
I am not fully informed, but when I went to IIT Madras, I spent a little more time as I would do in months to come here also. I was so delighted. Their incubation had taken a very serious flight, a flight which the chairman board of governors will better know because it is not in the sky but space. You have the potential and you need to exploit that potential to take this number to a higher level. I hope the very first unicorn in the city should be affiliated to IIT Jodhpur. If you decide, it shall happen.
This incubation centre, the IIT ecosystem themselves should become crucibles of innovation. Innovation is fundamental to economic growth for our development journey. Today I want to give a mantra. Every IIT should have at least one niche area for which they should be known globally. Pick up yours. Scratch your brains, Brainstorm, Help in things, Carve out a niche for IIT Jodhpur that will be a global brand for you.
To the faculty and students, I would say think beyond and think outside. We have chairman board of governors.
Let me indicate an area in which he has been very functional. Look at our audacious dreamers in ISRO. India now has a staggering and all-pervading space footprint with Mangalyaan, Gaganyaan and Aditya missions.
We all have relished the Chandrayaan-3 success, the day becoming a special celebration every year. India’s potential extends beyond the terrestrial domain. Our space economy is set to grow four-fold by 2030. But let us be realistic. That is not in consonance with our potential. Although it has made major strides, our share in global space economy is in single digit. And we are one-sixth of humanity. And when it comes to technological prowess, we are much beyond our demographic component, and therefore, we have to take a big jump.
Who will make success of it? Boys and girls from IIT. They have to address the issue. What are the avenues in the space economy? Think of oceans.The oceans offer a wide range of sectoral opportunities like fisheries and aquaculture, ports and shipping, marine and coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, IT-driven maritime innovation, deep seabed mining, to name a few. In all these areas, you have a critical role to play. If you just think while you have time, you will come to know, you will find an area of interest that suits your aptitude.
Another huge promising area is green hydrogen. I was so happy and delighted when Government of India allocated 90,000 crores for green hydrogen mission. India has aspired to produce 5 million metric tonne of green hydrogen by 2030.
That will help fuel growth without further degrading environment. The work is on. It does need capable human resource. It does need engineers, and you will be surprised if you count the number of engineers that are needed. And it is a beginning. Get to your job, those of you who are keen to get involved in this domain. Don’t lose a moment.
With the green hydrogen mission, the Indian space policy, the blue economy policy, and the deep ocean mission, the government is in overdrive to create a healthy and conducive environment for these emerging sectors.
All these opportunities are there. One thing which I have felt, my young friends, is we have a myopic view of the opportunity basket which we think you have. The fact of the situation is that on account of exponential growth and great policies in place, your opportunity basket is ever, ever going up.
Take note of it. You, my friends, do not want to miss this bus. I know you would not want to miss it.
But you will have to take the first step. You have to make a conscious decision. When you step out of this institution, whether you want to be a job seeker or a job creator, whether you want to lead or to be led is your choice.
I will never say you will not have problems. While you enjoy a never-ending field, you enjoy a corruption-free environment, your government policies that help you, you will have unexpected jobs. You will find success not coming to you, coming to someone else.
You will find unjustly you have been denied and someone has got it unjustly. These are challenges where you need to learn. Take them in stride. These are learning lessons because you have been trained to face these situations. There will never, ever be only a red carpet environment for you. If challenges come your way, and they will surely, the challenges are waiting in the wings.
You have to convert those challenges into opportunities. There are a few other things that I have learned from IIT Jodhpur that I find impressive. It was reflected briefly.
It is the first institution nationally where one can take courses in their mother tongue in engineering and technology. There was a time it was taken to be a wall. You can’t go beyond it. This was taken to be a crazy idea. The wall, the ceiling is demolished.
There are dozens of countries who excel in engineering but do not teach these subjects in a foreign language.
Number of them. Look at Japan, Germany, China and many other countries at the forefront of technology. They don’t take request of foreign language. Language the country believes in. The individual believes in. You can adopt German, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, any one. And let me give you some illustrations. Our homegrown areas, neither Bodhayan nor Pythagoras but thinking in English. Yet they both arrived at this wonderful forum in their own mother tongue.
Let me indicate, Kanada, Sushruta, Aryabhatta, Bhaskar, Charaka, Patanjali and Brahmagupta made splendid and lasting discoveries in Sanskrit. In Sanskrit language they made discoveries. I am not an unmitigated votary of parochialism but I also very strongly believe that a foreign language should not be an unreachable barrier to learn sciences, medicine, technology, engineering or any other topic.
Now, friends, we are living in tough times. Some people in this country are born critics. I will get now a system. The Vice President was advocating a language of the country in English. Don’t be moved by these things.
To rise above these things believe in Arjun, who did not see the ceiling, who did not see the fish, he did not see the eye. He saw only the pupil. Get the idea of it. Your comfort has to decide how you prosecute your pursuit in life. Never be shaken by it. It is best to get in your shoes than if somebody else’s shoes. Your bicycle any day is more comfortable for you than somebody else’s limousine. You may not realise but your ride on the bicycle will be a joy and limousine may be a pain in the neck.
Another major feature and I have been associated with it to some extent as Governor of the State of West Bengal, national education policy. It has given multidisciplinary facet to our education. You cannot be an innovator by only learning Engineering, if you want to build a mobility startup you need to understand a range of things from consumer behaviour to its communication patterns.
Under the National Education Policy the students now have the flexibility to pursue courses in non-traditional combinations. Earlier they used to say यह तो combination ठीक नहीं है, why are you thinking of this combination?
Now there has to be convergence of varied disciplines to give you cutting edge, now you have to pursue courses in non traditional combinations. Medical students can study economics or music alongside their core subject- A step towards holistic and well rounded education.
Friends we will not create the generation of solution providers without this format of education that is beautifully enshrined in Jodhpur IIT logo that says, “We seek the harmonious stream of gyan and vigyan- technology and knowledge together”.
Let me remind you, It was after 3 decades considering inputs from more than hundred thousand stakeholders that NEP was evolved. Its a gamechanger, I hope those who are still studying will not remain hostages to disciplinarian boundaries and benefit from this.Get in to the shoes that are comfortable to you.
Engineering and Technology are a part of overall learning and grooming and entire globe is manufacturing on manufacturing. Manufacturing is a key now. Its a buzz word, the stage for you is set out already.
The world beyond walls of this institution is infinite, Travel within the country as much as you can, there is no greater education than being a traveller.
The Millers and the markets and the Mandir and Gurudwara is the foods and flavours the colour and crafts the wisdom and the chatter on the streets. They all are waiting for you. I meet innovators who tell me they found a business idea on a trip to a small town . Be a seeker, be a traveller. I myself was amazed how little I knew this India, we have in Bharat everything if we put New Zealand or Switzerland countries together, you’ll find all this in our Northeast.
Nature has been bountiful and gifting our nation with everything it needed. I hope my young friends IITs will produce generation of thinkers who not only have the best of Bharat In their heart but also understand Bharat and its complexities and diversities.
I would conclude if you face unfairness, and you will mark my words, learn the value of justice. If you experience betrayal, you will get occasions. There will be betrayal. You will get lessons in loyalty. If you feel lonely, you will appreciate what friendship is,
Be you, be original. Nothing should data from dreaming big and pursuing your goals. When when you get tired, feel depressed and exhausted, which you will there will be occasion when you’ll be tired. Depressed and exhausted, lonely and maybe in a state, which is not good in the situation. Remember the ever inspirational Dr Kalam, and his message,
The man who rose from the essays of struggle and adversity left a single message, Dr. APJ Kalam- He belonged to the stream of your Chairman, Board of Governors,, and what he said,
“Dream, dream, dream, Never stop dreaming” because in Bharat, our Bharat there is an ecosystem of affirmative policies, dreams are being realised on the ground. Dreams fructify, so dream and dream big and if you find that still you do not have the spirit to dream remember Vivekananda. What Vivekananda said, and mind you his chicago address will stir you as no other address.
Arise and work and stop not until the goal is achieved. Let the words of both these wise men be your guiding light in the wake of insurmountable challenges, be your North star in the face of adversity which you’ll have and be your light house when you feel marooned on the island of dejection, despair and despondency.
My message is, and this has to be remembered. Your learning doesn’t stop when you leave this campus, you have to be a constant learner, The only constant in life is change. You have to believe in it. Be lifelong learners, be connected to your roots and use your knowledge to contribute to India’s growth story and to the betterment of humanity at large because our Bharat is known for inclusivity, We stand for inclusivity, We stand for global peace and harmony.