North-East’s development integral to India’s growth story: Vice President

May 4, 2023 8 Views No Comment

Jagdeep Dhankhar visits universities in Assam and Manipur

New Delhi, May 4 (MExN): The Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar today said that North-East’s development is integral to India’s growth story.

The Government of India’s (GoI) policy of ‘Act East’, upgraded from the ‘Look East’ policy has given an impetus to the NE region and made way for its overall development, he stated, during his maiden visit to the state of Manipur as the Vice President.

Dhankhar addressed students and teachers at Dhanamanjuri University and later at Manipur University during the visit.

According to an official release, at Dhanamanjuri University, he observed that the infrastructure in the NER is fast improving, referring to upgraded rail connectivity, increase in the number of airports, among other initiatives.

The NE culture, diversity, dances, and natural vegetation are unparalleled in the world, he added.

The Vice-President termed the students as foot soldiers of 2047 and urged then not only to dream of big ideas but also pursue them to make them into reality, making use of the avenues for growth and become job creators rather than job seekers.

Meanwhile, at Manipur University, he encouraged the gathering to experiment with various ideas and maintained that the ‘biggest killer of innovation’ is fear.

Dhankhar further observed that the world is looking at India’s growth, which is best exemplified through its thriving startup ecosystem and called upon the students to always keep the nation first and take pride in its achievements, stated the statement issued by the Vice President’s Secretariat via PIB Delhi.

At Assam’s Dibrugarh University, where he addersed the varsity’s 21st convocation, Dhankhar said that education is the most effective and transformative mechanism to bring about equity, equality and progress in the society.

“Nothing can change societal conditions more than people getting educated,” he underlined.

He also urged the students to be “agents of change” and work for bringing about positive changes in the society. “You are makers and warriors of Bharat in 2047 when the nation will celebrate the centenary of its independence,” he added.

He further maintained that India’s growth story was ‘unstoppable’ and expressed confidence that by the end of decade, the country will be the world’s third largest economy.

A separate release from the Vice President’s Secretariat further informed that Dhankhar described India as “Mother of Democracy and world’s most vibrant democracy” and questioned why “some of us decry our democracy within and outside the country.”

He also underlined that freedom of expression has not been subjected to any enforced silence in India, it said. He further termed the Parliament as the temple of India’s democracy and emphasised that it is a platform where issues of public interests are debated, deliberated, discussed and decided.

However, prolonged disruptions undermine the esteem and confidence which people repose in their representative institutions, the Vice President added.

To this end, he called for generating an ecosystem so that “our parliamentarians respond positively to the spirit and essence of the founding fathers of our constitution.”

On the occasion, the Vice President conferred D. Sc. and D. Litt degrees (Honoris Causa) to eminent personalities of Assam. He also planted a tree sapling at the University campus.