HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 13: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday stressed the need to promote a knowledge-based society and the importance of technological solutions to the problems of the country, while highlighting the role of institutes of higher education in this regard.
She was speaking after virtually inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for various central and state projects from the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.
These include the inauguration of supercomputer ‘Param Kamrupa’, under the National Supercomputing Mission, and a laboratory for the design and development of high-power microwave components at IIT-Guwahati.
Murmu also virtually inaugurated the Dhubri Medical College and Hospital and laid the foundation stones for the Zonal Institutes of the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Dibrugarh in Assam and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh at the same programme.
Lauding the achievements of IIT-Guwahati, the President stressed the role of the institute in the region.
“Since this is the only IIT in the Northeastern region, IIT Guwahati must shoulder responsibility to nurture other institutions in the region, work with the state government and the defence forces to strengthen our borders, and provide technological solutions to prevent recurrence of natural calamities in the region,” the President said.
She said that the National Education Policy 2020 clearly acknowledges that addressing today’s socio economic challenges requires high-quality interdisciplinary research that must be done in India and cannot simply be imported.
Murmu also exhorted the people of the Northeastern region to play a leading role in creating a knowledge-based society.
She said, “The North East should be a torch bearer in spreading knowledge and inculcating scientific temperament.”
“We all know that the Sun rises first in the Northeastern region of India and then spreads its light across the country. The North Eastern Region should be the torch-bearer in spreading knowledge and inculcating ‘scientific temper’ among people of the country, in the spirit of our Constitution,” the President added.
The President also mentioned the age-old tradition of research in India and harped on the need to carry it forward in the present times.
Murmu said that the benefits of technology should reach the most remote corners of society.
The President said that various projects of Central and State governments and the consequent progress of the region will set a foundation for making India a technologically advanced nation and an inclusive society.
Governor Jagdish Mukhi, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Bharati Pravin Pawar and IIT-Guwahati director TG Sitharam and others were present at the programme.
The President is on a two-day visit to this North Eastern state, which will conclude on Friday. (With inputs from PTI)
