New Delhi: The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today called upon researchers and scientists to pay greater attention to agriculture and come up with innovations to address the problems faced by farmers.
Speaking at the online ARIIA-2020 (Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements) Awards Ceremony at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas today, Shri Naidu said from providing timely information on various issues to farmers to creating cold storage facilities and supplying new technologies should be the focus of innovators and researchers.
He stressed the need for preventing farmers’ exploitation by middlemen and ensuring remunerative prices for their produce. He said the AICTE, ICAR, NIRD and agriculture universities should work in unison to bring new innovations and technologies to farmers.
Emphasizing the need for India’s higher education system to play the role of an enabler and force-multiplier to drive Indian innovation and start-up ecosystem, the Vice President said “Innovation must become the heartbeat of education. Quest for excellence must become the norm”.
Urging educational institutions to reinvent themselves to create these essential conditions for innovation to thrive and creativity to blossom, Shri Naidu said that our educational eco-system must constantly nurture the innate spirit of inquiry and innovative problem-solving.
Expressing his happiness that the New National Education Policy has made a number of recommendations that will foster innovation, he said “It has outlined a new vision that can vastly improve the quality of teaching and learning as well as research”.
The Vice President said the policy lays great emphasis on comprehension, critical thinking, analysis and the joy of discovering new facets of the world of knowledge. “It seeks to break the silos and connect different disciplines through multi-disciplinary learning. Establishing this connection between fragments of information and evidence is truly vital for innovation”, he stressed.
Shri Naidu called for concerted efforts to inculcate the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among our students to make them ‘out of the box’ thinkers, creative problem solvers, entrepreneurs, and job creators rather than job seekers..
Urging higher educational institutions to redouble their efforts to move up in this ranking exercise, the Vice President said India needs many more institutions of high standards to significantly alter the country’s development trajectory. “We need to learn from the best in the world and aim to be better than the best”, he stressed.
Recalling India’s illustrious history of innovations spanning at least 20 centuries right from the invention of “zero” and the decimal system by renowned mathematicians like Pingala, Aryabhata and Brahmagupta, the Vice President pointed out that India was once known as Vishwa Guru and students from far away countries came to study at our universities like Nalanda and Takshashila.
Shri Naidu said that India must regain that intellectual leadership and once again emerge as a global hub of learning and innovation.
Calling for tapping into the highly talented youth population brimming with new ideas, passion for experimentation and willingness to forge a new path, Shri Naidu said “It is these young people studying in many of our colleges and universities who will define what our country’s future will be”.
Referring to Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements, Shri Naidu described it as a major step to recognize excellence in creating a conducive environment for students to innovate. “It is the classrooms and the laboratories, the projects and the learning experiences that will alter the educational landscape of our country. The key responsibility to make this dream come true lies with the educators and educational managers”, he added.
Touching upon Prime Minister, Shri Narendrabhai Modi’s call for a self-reliant India through Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Vice President observed that self-reliance requires us to innovate, to seek implementable solutions for development challenges and create a favourable environment for experimentation.
Urging scientists and researchers to come up with innovations and solutions, he advised them to focus on making the lives of the people more comfortable. “Science must also be used to make agriculture more productive and create greater wealth for farmers”, he added.
Education Minister , Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Minister of State, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary HE, MoE and Dr BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, ARIIA Committee and Executive Chairman, CYIENT were among those participated in the online event.
The following is the full text of the speech:
At the outset let me congratulate the Minister, MHRD Innovation Cell & AICTE for starting ARIIA ranking since last year & for conducting the entire exercise despite the massive disruption in our normal functioning this year.
I am also aware of two special hackathons conducted during this lockdown period in online mode – Ideathon and Samadhan.
During the last five years, India has made considerable progress in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship. At world level, we have moved up from 81st position in 2015 to 52nd position in 2019 in Global Innovation Index ranking.
It is indeed a matter of great satisfaction that we have the 3rd largest start-up ecosystem in the world today.
It is heartening to see that the government has taken a number of initiatives to inculcate the spirit of innovation among students from a young age. Over 2 million students between grade 6th to 12th are working in more than 5100 Atal Tinkering Labs established across the country under the Atal Innovation Mission.
Innovation has always been the key defining feature of human progress.
Inventions, discoveries, creative art works, architectural marvels and experimentation in different fields of human endeavour have enriched human lives.
India has its own illustrious history of innovations spanning at least twenty centuries right from the invention of “zero”and the decimal system by renowned mathematicians like Pingala, Aryabhata and Brahmagupta.
There was a time when India was known as Vishwa Guru and students from far away countries came to study at our universities. Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramshila and Pushpagiri were some of the great centres of learning.
We must regain that intellectual leadership.
We must once again emerge as a global hub of learning and innovation.
We have to tap into the highly talented youth population which is brimming with new ideas, a passion for experimentation and willingness to forge a new path.
It is these young people studying in many of our colleges and universities who will define what our country’s future will be.
It is these youths that need encouragement, facilitation and recognition. They must be given the guidance and freedom to explore new frontiers.
Our educational institutions, especially institutions of higher education must reinvent themselves to create these essential conditions for innovation to thrive, for creativity to blossom.
I am happy to note that the New National Education Policy has a sharp focus on this aspect and has made a number of recommendations that will foster innovation.
It has outlined a new vision that can vastly improve the quality of teaching and learning as well as research.
Moving away from rote learning, the policy lays great emphasis on comprehension, critical thinking, analysis and the joy of discovering new facets of the world of knowledge.
It seeks to break the silos and connect different disciplines through multi-disciplinary learning.
Establishing this connection between fragments of information and evidence is truly vital for innovation.
It is this ability to question and seek answers that lies at the foundation of innovation. It is the childlike curiosity that can trigger the creative impulse.
Our educational eco-system must constantly nurture this innate spirit of inquiry and innovative problem-solving.
Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements is a major step to recognize excellence in creating this conducive environment for students to innovate.
Ranking institutions through a transparent process on certain key parameters gives a well-deserved recognition to the efforts of the educational leaders who are managing these institutions and the transformational instructional leaders who are teaching students in the classrooms as well as guiding them through the research process.
I appreciate that ‘Innovative Learning Methods & Courses’ is one of the parameters to calculate this Atal Ranking.
It is the classrooms and the laboratories, the projects and the learning experiences that will alter the educational landscape of our country.
It is the dream articulated in the National Education Policy 2020.
The key responsibility to make this dream come true lies with the educators and educational managers.
Difficult times, like the one we are passing through because of the pandemic, can sometimes spur innovation and demonstrate our ability to convert challenges into opportunities. The Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi has rightly given a timely vision of self-reliant India through his call for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Self-reliance requires us to innovate, to seek implementable solutions for development challenges and create a favourable environment for experimentation.
India’s higher education system can and should play the role of an enabler and force-multiplier to drive Indian innovation and start-up ecosystem.
Greater emphasis is being laid on building a knowledge society through promotion of science, research and excellence. There should be concerted efforts to inculcate the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among our students to make them ‘out of the box’ thinkers, creative problem solvers, entrepreneurs, and job creators rather than job seekers.The youth of the country must be motivated to join the developmental path more aggressively, while our scientists and researchers must come up with innovations and solutions. They must focus on making the lives of the people more comfortable. Science must also be used to make agriculture more productive and create greater wealth for farmers.
I am glad the Ministry of Education has taken a big leap forward with the formulation of a new education policy. This can serve as a robust framework for instilling a new sense of direction and a culture of continuous quality improvement in our institutions of higher learning.
Innovation must become the heartbeat of education. Quest for excellence must become the norm.
On the occasion of the result announcement ceremony of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), I congratulate all the institutions which have secured top honours. I would urge them to maintain the high standards they have already established. I would like all other higher educational institutions also to redouble their efforts to move up in this ranking exercise. India needs a lot more institutions to achieve a high standard to significantly alter the country’s development trajectory.
We need to learn from the best in the world and aim to be better than the best.
I compliment All India Council for Technical Education and Ministry’s Innovation Cell for planning thisinitiative and successfully completing two editions.
I am happy to see that there is a considerable increase in participation of institutions in this 2nd edition as compared to last year.
I hope ARIIA ranking, named after one of India’s illustrious Prime Ministers, will inspire all higher education institutions to be ‘Atal’ or steadfast in their commitment to creating world class institutions. Institutions whose defining feature will be a sustained level of high quality research and ceaseless innovation.
