IITs should start major research programmes to boost the rural economy through the development of sustainable technologies, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has said.
The research at IITs and other higher education institutes must be relevant to society and focus on finding solutions to various problems faced by mankind from climate change to health issues.
Speaking at the diamond jubilee celebrations of IIT Delhi, he said, “Indian institutions will be counted among the world’s best only when they start impacting the societies around them by developing optimal and sustainable solutions to the problems faced by the nation. Research should focus on making the lives of people comfortable, quicken the progress and ensure a more equitable world order.”
Urging the IITs to pay attention to the problems faced by the farmers and rural India, the vice president asked them to work not only for enhancing agri-production, but also specially focus on the production of nutritious and protein-rich food.
“With more than 50 pc of our population still dependent on agriculture, it is important for IITs to start major research programmes to boost the rural economy through the development of sustainable technologies,” he added.
Naidu said, “Higher education institutions should not work in silos and form a symbiotic relationship with the industry to develop cutting-edge technology and the industry experts in various areas should act as mentors in guiding researchers. This type of collaboration will help in fast-tracking projects and produce quicker results.”
Batting for the need for greater investment in Research and Development projects which focus on finding solutions to societal problems, Naidu urged the private sector to collaborate with the academia in identifying such projects and fund them liberally.
“There should be greater investment in R and D projects which focus on finding solutions to societal problems. I call upon the private sector, including industry bodies like CII and Assocham, to collaborate with academia in identifying such projects and fund them liberally,” he said.
Though IITs do a lot of research, it remains to be a question as to how much they are useful for the commonman. Also, there is a longstanding criticism that these institutes, funded by the taxpayers’ money, are acting as factories that produce talent to foreign companies. Research programmes to boost the rural economy can only be fitting answers to these criticisms.