Interaction With the Students of Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore

Indomitable Spirit

I am delighted to be here with the members of Kumaraguru College of Technology and participate in an interactive session. My greetings to the Principal, Faculty and Students.

Since all of you are undergoing engineering education in this campus you will all be thinking what opportunities you have in the country after your graduation. I would like to talk to this audience on ?Challenges and Opportunities before the youth?.

Employment Generation through entrepreneurship

There has been a substantial growth in our higher educational system and we are generating over 3 million graduates every year. Particularly, about 3 lakh engineers pass out of various professional colleges. However, our employment generation system is not in a position to absorb all the graduates passing out from the universities. It leads to increase in educated unemployed, year after year. This situation will lead to instability in the social structure. We need higher education backed by employment opportunities. A multi pronged strategy is needed to make education more attractive and simultaneously create employment potential ? how do we do that?

We can do it: Firstly, the educational system, the teaching process should be such that, the confidence should come to the students ?that we can do it?. The teachers either have to be experienced or lectures can be arranged from successful leaders in agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors. This comes in as a part of teaching and reading the great lives, who succeeded in life, going through series of challenges.

Entrepreneurship Training: The educational system should highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and prepare the students right from the college education to get oriented towards setting up of small enterprises and ventures in our rural areas either individually or jointly, which will provide them creativity, freedom and ability to generate wealth.

Venture Capital: Thirdly, the banking system should provide venture capital right from village level to the prospective entrepreneurs for undertaking new enterprises. Banks have to be proactive to support the innovative products for enabling wealth generation by young entrepreneurs by setting aside the ?conventional tangible asset syndrome?. Definitely this involves certain amount of calculated risks that can be eliminated by making an analysis of successful venture capital enterprises.

Marketable products: Fourthly, there is a need to identify marketable products and enhancement of purchasing power among the people. Kumaraguru College must inculcate the spirit of ?we can do it?, among the students. They can also take the support of various industries located in the area to develop the entrepreneurial spirit among the students so that they can set up small enterprises in their areas using the raw materials and inputs available locally.

Nagapattinam recovering bravely

Now I would like to share my experiences which I had during my visit to Nagapattinam last week.

Conclusion: Indomitable spirit

For success in any mission what we need is indomitable spirit. Let us study the characteristics of indomitable spirit. It has two components. The first component is that there must be a Vision leading to higher goals of achievement. I would like to recall a couplet from Thirukkural by the Poet Saint Thiruvalluvar written 2500 years ago.

Quote:

It means that whatever may be the depth of the river or lake or pond, whatever may be the condition of the water, the lilly flower always comes out and blossoms. Similarly, if there is a definite determination to achieve a goal even if it is impossible to achieve, the man succeeds.

Many of us have gone through large programmes and projects. We would have experienced that success is not in sight and there are many hurdles. The same poet reminds us at this point of time through another couplet:

We should never be defeated by any problems. We should become master of the situation and defeat the problems. I consider these two Thirukkurals characterize the indomitable spirit.

May God bless you.

Question and Answer Session

1. Providing urban facilities for Rural Areas (PURA) ? is an excellent concept conceived by the President for the betterment of the rural mass. How do we involve private enterprises in this project?

- K Suresh, IV B.Tech (IT)

PURA needs entrepreneurs, who are groomed in the rural environment . It needs managers also. I have suggested private enterprises to adopt PURAs in their region, using the local talent. Also I have been advocating opening of new enterprises in the rural sector which will become the corner stone for the development of PURA. Some initiatives have already commenced.

2. For successful implementation of PURA, the rural people have to be educated in different aspects. Will it be fruitful to involve NGO?s in this programme?

- N. Lavanya, III B.Tech (IT)

NGOs have a major role to play. Recently in the National Summit of Rural NGOs, I have suggested that they should take educating and skill enabling the rural population as a main mission. They have agreed to do so.

3. Health: Major surgeries are becoming costly. Medical insurance is still a dream for many. Will it be kpossible to make health care affordable to the poor in the villages atleast in another 10 years?

- R. Navaneethakrishnan, IV B.E. (CSE)

I have come across a novel scheme for medicare, operated by Narayana Hridayalaya at Bangalore. The scheme involves payment of Rupees ten per member per month for getting total medical cover including costly operations. There are eighteen lakh members benefiting from this scheme. I have suggested District Authorities and State Government Authorities to study the scheme and implement it in their area.

6. It is said that the youth population in India is great in number. What are the ways by which we can channelize this powerful force in to productive one?

- R. Keerthi Kumaran, P.Vijayakumar & R Ramesh Babu, III B.E. (CSE)

As a part of my Republic Day talk, I have given seven missions for national development and employment generation. They are: bio-fuel generation, wasteland development, water harvesting and recycling, bamboo mission, converting the fly ash into wealth generator, textile industry, health care and village knowledge centre.

Channelising the powerful force in these missions will bring prosperity to the nation.

7. What should be the Indian strategy for participation to contain global warming?

- V. Shyamala Devi, III B.E. (CSE)

India should work towards pollution reduction. All of us must plant trees and maintain them. Bio-fuel is another method of reducing atmospheric pollution. Also clean green buildings must come in large numbers.

8. Our contribution in Science and Technology is not matching with our rank in scientists? population (3rd in the world). How we could accelerate the achievements in Science and Technology?

- Dr. S. Sadasivam, Prof & Head Bio-Techy.

We have to work on mission mode and encourage youth to pursue basic science and research. Career in science is a full time activity and requires total dedication.

9. Municipal waste is a menace and at the same time a potential source of bio-energy. What are the ways and means to popularize the programme to get energy from waste?

- Ratish M. Krishnan, III B.Tech (BIO)

There are four plants of 6.5MW each established in Hyderabad and Vijayawada using MSW. Delhi Government is planning to have such plants very soon. This model should be emulated by many urban cities, town and villages.

10. What does the President think the role of a student in a nation building?

- M.S. Praveen, IV B.Tech (BIO)

He should teach atleast five people who do not know how to read and write. Also, each student should plant five saplings and grow them into trees. They can go the villages and wean away atleast five people from the clutches of vices like drinking, gambling, drugs etc.

11. What are the ways and means of avoiding brain drain? Is it possible in the globalized economy?

- KRD. Navin, IV B.E. (ME)

India produces about 300,000 professionals like engineers, doctors etc. each year. There is nothing wrong in some of them going abroad for work. Indians maintain umbilical connectivity with their homes and educational institutions even when they are abroad. This connectivity provides very good input for the nation.