SPEECH OF HONOURABLE GOVERNOR PUNJAB AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, SHRI BANWARI LAL PUROHIT ON THE OCCASION OF 18TH CONVOCATION OF DR B.R. AMBEDKAR NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, JALANDHAR ON OCTOBER 18, 2023
- PRB
- 2023-10-18 17:20
I am happy to be here today at the 18th Convocation of Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar.
Graduation is a watershed event in one’s life, where students make a commitment to themselves and the society to become intelligent, informed, disciplined, enthusiastic and committed agents of progress.
I extend my wholehearted congratulations to all of you, especially to those who have won medals.
I further extend my congratulations to proud parents who relish this event with more fondness than the graduating students.
Our scientists, engineers, economists and other professionals have contributed immensely to India’s improved standing on the global stage today.
We have shown the world our brainpower. Indians leave the mark wherever they go. There is hardly a global reputable corporation that does not have a presence of an Indian mind. You will find an India genius contributing to the upsurge of that outfit.
Over the past few years, India’s innovation ecosystem has tremendously improved. India is ranked 40th out of 132 countries among the top innovative economies according to Global innovation Index (GII) 2022.
The success of India’s first Mars mission in the first attempt i.e. indigenously built Mars Orbiter Mangalyaan is a classic example of frugal engineering, in which one-tenth of NASA’s Maven explorer amount was spent. This demonstrates India’s leadership in technology.
India has also established itself as a major player in Information Technology and Technology-Enabled Services.
My dear young friends,
Now, you are entering into the new phase of life. The previous phase was relatively carefree phase. The next phase is going to be more responsible phase, in which you will owe multiple responsibilities, personal, professional, national, global and social.
You have remained driven so far by your teachers and mentors, but now you will be on the driving seat.
During Amritkaal, you represent the human resource that will take our Bharat to 2047. You are makers of 2047, when the nation will celebrate the centenary of its independence.
In the modern times, work paradigms have been completely overhauled. With innovation at the center stage, we need innovative mindset, inclusive culture and simultaneous pursuit of profit and purpose.
This requires more of collaboration and co-creation and less of competition as compared to previous times.
Traditionally, there was increasing emphasis on surpassing others through competitive advantage. But in the modern times, technology has made competitive advantage elusive. Innovation requires collective talent working in a cross-functional manner.
Competition can provide individual success and growth, but keeps devoid of diversity of philosophies, competence and wide-ranging knowledge. On the other hand, collaboration brings together creative teams to achieve together and embrace failures together. Therefore, it requires ambi-dexterity between competition and collaboration. As they say “Talent wins games, but Team work wins Championships”.
Remember, collaboration requires high degree of trust. Trust is the glue that binds people together. Any breach in trust can prove detrimental to our mutual interests.
The breach of trust led to the destruction of the biggest empire in Hastinapur. Pandavas had shown tremendous trust in Dhritarashtra that he would protect their rights. But, Dhritrashtra was biased towards Duryodhan. The shattered trust led to the Great War between Kauravas & Pandvas.
Going by another anology, we see many migratory birds come to India in the winter after crossing several thousands of kilometers. They fly in a v-shaped pattern, some fly in the front and others on lateral sides; each bird has a role to play. They keep on changing positions as they progress because the birds flying in the front are more prone to fatigue. This is a classic example of moving forward and taking care of each other.
Leadership plays a vital role in collaborative team work. Leadership on one side envisions, energizes and enables people, and on the other side also plays an instrumental role to get the initiatives executed.
Going back to Kurukshetra war, Lord Krishna led Pandavas to great victory under his supreme superintendence. This is how, the leader instead of doing micro-managing, brings out the best from the people and enables them to discover and use their talents.
We expect our engineers to contribute towards overcoming the challenges of MSMEs. The MSMEs are providing highest number of jobs in India next to agriculture. Innovation is the lifeline of MSMEs. Government’s policies are very conducive to boost industrialization and manufacturing. The missions like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’ are boosting enterprise development.
Production Linked Incentives have been increased to 13 sectors. It will benefit SMEs to the large extent. Almost 97% mobile phones that are used in India are manufactured domestically. Indian SMEs are sharing their experience and expertise with other countries.
Friends,
In the knowledge-based economy, intellectual capital has become supreme over production capital. The intangible assets such as human intelligence and ingenuity have become vital for sustainability of organizations. Industry has production capital. Academia provides the intellectual capital to the industrial organizations. Both these capitals are required to be integrated for the growth of the economy.
The educational institutions need to collaborate with the industry for understanding the emerging needs of the industrial organizations. The industry-institute symbiosis is essential for the integration of intellectual and production capital. The government provides support to this relationship through policy framework.
Industry operates a center of production, university provides knowledge and technology, and government assures stable interaction and exchange between different partners. While retaining their primary roles, they also take the role of others. For instance, technology incubation parks are being set up in educational institutions.
The National Education Policy is a revolutionary step to elevate India in a knowledge-led era. Blended knowledge with inter-disciplinary courses, infusion of technology in education and holistic development of individuals have been emphasized in it so as to produce contemporary and relevant human intellectual capital for unlocking India’s potential to become a leader in innovation.
Dear Graduands,
We expect our youth to possess the blend of 4Cs; curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and commitment. The success of Chandrayaan-3 is a great example of curiosity, creativity collaboration and commitment. Be curious about the world around you, raise questions and try new things. Do not be afraid in taking risks and trying new things. Set your dreams high and keep working hard to turn these dreams into reality without any fear of failure.
Remember, "There cannot be a greater Guru than competition and the deadliest enemy than fear of failure". Take it from me, never have tension or stress; face all challenges with positivity. Unleash your energy. My advice to you is to try different things. Try unconventional things. Do not allow an idea to harbor in your mind, the moment you give positioning to an idea without translating it into action you are not contributing to the society. Those who have achieved great milestones and accomplishments, they failed several times. So, get this fear out of your mind. Knowledge and innovation are keystones of success.
As you leave the portals of your Alma Mater today, enriched and fulfilled by your training, remember that you have a duty to respond to the needs of your society. A vedic verse says and I quote:
विद्यां ददाति विनयं, विनयाद् याति पात्रताम् ।
(“Vidya dadati vinayam; vinayad yaati patratam;)
पात्रत्वात् धनमाप्नोति, धनात् धर्मं ततः सुखम्
(Patratvat dhan-mapnoti; dhanat dharmaha tataha sukham”),
that is, “knowledge creates humility; from humility comes good fortune; with good fortune one performs dharma; in performing dharma, one becomes happy”(unquote).
I believe, our technical institutions must usher in social consciousness amongst our budding engineers and scientists. Besides, developing professional competence, these centres of scientific learning must induce social orientation in their students. They must help create a pool of bright and motivated youth who will use their knowledge and ingenuity to find solutions to socio-economic problems.
Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology is one of the prestigious institutions of the country. I hope, with great academic and social experience in academic and non-academic activities here at this institute, you have unlocked your potential to such an extent that will help you to excel in all walks of life.
I conclude by quoting timeless mantra given by Swami Vivekananda:
“Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is reached.”
Bharat at 2047 – the destiny, is in your hands. It is in the hands of you, the youth who believe in Bharat and will always make our Bharat proud.
Thank you,
Jai Hind.