Chennai: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called upon the research community and institutions like IITs to come up with intelligent solutions to thwart the sinister plans of terrorists to hurt the country’s interests.
Speaking after visiting the site of India’s first 3D Printed House in India at IIT-Madras on Wednesday, he observed that terrorism is the enemy of mankind and referred to the use of low-flying drones by terrorists and pointed out that they could not be detected by military radars.
He also advised institutions like IITs to also focus on areas related to terrorism and come up with solutions to counter the efforts of terrorists.
Earlier, Naidu commended the efforts of the team behind the project of India’s first 3D Printed House–a joint collaboration of IIT-Madras and a startup, Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions.
Emphasising on the developmental prerogatives of technology, he spoke about the importance of industry-institute partnerships in scaling up emerging technologies and achieving commercial viability.
Observing that cutting edge technologies provide a glimpse into the future, Naidu stressed the importance of scaling them up so that they were accessible to the common man.
“Technologies should not be limited to being only ‘proof of concept’. It can greatly alleviate human suffering and make a common man’s life comfortable. That is the ultimate purpose of any research,” he added.
The Vice President said the project showed the possible benefits of the fourth industrial revolution, where a fusion of smart technologies like 3D printing and robotics has the potential to change traditional manufacturing practices.
Noting the advantages of the technology, he said that 3D printing in construction offers a completely customisable house design and reduces manual intervention.
He also called for more such technological innovations to address housing shortage in India and to fulfil the ambitious low-cost housing projects like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
On higher education, Naidu said premier institutes like IITs are best placed to foresee the upcoming technological revolutions and keep the country better prepared in seizing new opportunities.
Advising higher education institutes to go beyond classroom programmes and prepare the students for real-world challenges by inculcating a holistic approach to problem-solving, Naidu said ‘this way they will become our job creators and not just job seekers’.