PM addresses Association of Indian Universities’ 95th Annual Meet and National Seminar of Vice-Chancellors

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 14 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the Association of Indian Universities’ 95th Annual Meet and National Seminar of Vice-Chancellors

The Prime Minister launched four books related to Babasaheb, Dr BR Ambedkar, penned by Kishor Makwana. 

Governor, Chief Minister, and Education Minister of Gujarat, and Union Education Minister were among those present. 

The event was held by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad.

The Prime Minister paid a tribute to Bharat Ratna, Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar on behalf of the grateful nation, and said that his Jayanti during the period when the country is celebrating "Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav", gives us new energy.

Modi stressed that India has been the "mother of democracy in the world and democracy has been an integral part of our civilization and our way of life. Babasaheb laid a strong foundation to move forward while strengthening India’s democratic heritage".

Talking about the philosophy of Babasaheb, the Prime Minister said that Dr Ambedkar considered knowledge, self-respect, and politeness as his three revered deities. 

Self-respect comes with knowledge and makes a person aware of his or her rights, the Prime Minister added.  

Through equal rights, emerging social harmony, and the country progresses. Our education system and universities have this responsibility to carry the country forward on the path shown by Babasaheb, said the Prime Minister.  

On National Education Policy, the Prime Minister said, that every student has certain capabilities. 

These capabilities pose three questions before the student and the teacher. Firstly, what they can do? Secondly, what is their potential if they are properly taught? And thirdly, what they want to do? The answer to the first question is the "inner strength of the students". 

However, if institutional strength is added to that inner strength, their development will get expanded, and they will be able to do what they want to do, quoting Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the Prime Minister said.  

The Prime Minister said that the NEP is aimed at fulfilling Dr Radhakrishnan’s vision of education that frees and empowers the student to participate in national development. Education management should be undertaken to keep the whole world as a unit but also, focussing on the Indian character of education

Talking about the growing demand for skills in the emerging Aatmnirbhar Bharat, the Prime Minister said that India is being looked upon as the future centre of Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, 3D printing, Virtual Realityandrobotics, mobile technology, geo-informatics, smart healthcare and defence sector. 

To meet the requirement of skills, Indian Institutes of skills are being set up in three big metropolitans of the country. In Mumbai, the first batch of the Indian Institute of Skills has already started. In 2018, the Future Skills Initiative was launched with NASSCOM, informed the Prime Minister. He said that we want that all universities should be multi-disciplinary as we want to give students flexibility. 

He called upon the Vice Chancellors to work for this goal.

Modi elaborated on Babasaheb’s conviction for equal rights and equal opportunity for all. 

The Prime Minister emphasized that schemes like Jandhan accounts are leading to financial inclusion of every person and through DBT money is reaching directly to their accounts. 

The Prime Minister reiterated the country’s commitment to take the message of Babasaheb to every person. Developing the key places related to the life of Babasaheb as PanchTeerth is a step in that direction. He also said that measures like Jal Jeevan Mission, free housing, free electricity, support during pandemic and initiatives for women empowerment are taking forward the dreams of Babasaheb.

The Prime Minister released the following four books based on Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar's life, written by Shri Kishor Makwana:

Dr. Ambedkar Jivan Darshan, Dr. Ambedkar Vyakti Darshan, Dr Ambedkar Rashtra Darshan, and Dr. Ambedkar Aayam Darshan. 

The Prime Minister said that these books are not less than any modern classics and convey the universal vision of Babasaheb. He hoped that such books will be widely read by students in colleges and universities. 

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