New Delhi, Nov 17: M Venkaiah Naidu the Vice President of India, today said the New Education Policy (NEP) aims at projecting India a global knowledge superpower and underlined the need for the country to once again become a Vishwa Guru in the field of education.

The Vice President said that the NEP seeks to make Indian education holistic, multi-disciplinary, and practical, Venkaiah Naidu mentioned that the NEP draws inspiration from the ancient Indian education system which used to focus on developing holistic and well-rounded personalities.

On addressing virtually on the 13th convocation of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala, Naidu pointed out that the ancient education system always taught us to live in harmony with nature and respect all beings and non-beings. “Our education was practical, wholesome, and complementary to life”, he added.

Vice President call upon the higher education institutions and universities to make our Country a thriving hub of knowledge and innovation, Naidu advised them to take up cutting edge research in various fields, establish synergy with industries and other similar institutions and turn our campuses into exciting centres of creativity and research.

The Vice President asked the students to set a goal, strive hard to achieve it and also to utilize their knowledge, skills and aptitude that they acquired over the years in building bright, fulfilling and successful careers. “You will succeed if you work with dedication, discipline and sincerity without wavering from your chosen path”, he stressed and recalled an advice of our former President, A P J Abdul Kalam to the youth to dream big.

Stressing on the need to be agile, the Vice President said, “Students, researchers and academicians, therefore, cannot afford to remain in a world of status quo. They have to constantly learn, update themselves, and innovate every day”. One who learns and adapts better will thrive,” he added.

He also observed that it was time for the universities, IITs, NITs and other higher education institutions to fully reorient their teaching methods and equip the teachers with new pedagogical skills in tune with the 21st-century requirements.

Vice President also stressed the need to adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to address the challenges faced by mankind such as ending poverty, improving agricultural productivity and combating pollution and diseases amongst others. He urged the corporate sector to identify key research projects in various sectors and fund them under CSR initiatives.

With about 65 percent of the country’s population comprising of the youth, the Vice President called for fully channelizing the energies of the youth and creating the right ecosystem for promoting entrepreneurship among them. “This is the time to tap their talents and skill for giving a fillip to ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign. Institutions like NIT-Agartala have to be at the forefront in turning youth into job creators and not just job seekers”, he added.

The Vice President expressed his happiness that NIT Agartala had adopted nearby villages with an aim of making them “Model Villages.” He asked all students to spend some time in villages to understand the challenges faced by the rural India. Terming ‘agriculture’ as our ‘basic culture’, he called for making farming a viable and profitable activity.

Reminding the students of India’s great civilizational values of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and ‘share and care’, Shri Naidu asked them to make these values part of their life. “Sharing will give you more happiness”, he said.

The Vice President also asked the educational institutions to enrich the knowledge of the students by making them aware of India’s ancient culture and heritage.

Stressing the need for people to be nature- friendly, he called for protecting nature and promoting culture for a better future. He appealed to everyone to respect and love the nature.

He lauded NIT Agartala for being ranked within 100 best engineering institutes the under the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).

Dr. Subhash Chandra Sati, Chairman, Board of Governors, NIT, Agartala, Prof H K Sharma, Director, NIT, Agartala, Dr. Govind Bhargava, Registrar, Dr Ajay Kumar Das, Dean, Academics, Prof Gautham Damuri, PURDUE University, USA, Anil Mutha of Mutha Industries, Faculty, staff, students and their parents were among those who participated in the virtual event.