Knowledge leads to technology and technology to prosperity: Prez

Emphasizing on research and innovation, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said progress is not possible without a knowledge society.

Addressing the first convocation of the Management Development Institute (MDI) here, President Mukherjee shared that he took the initiative for establishing the Management Development Institute when he was representing the area in Parliament.

"Despite the fact we have created good infrastructure in our higher educational system, hardly any of the Indian Universities find place in the top global rankings. After my continuous exhortation to institutions to take the ranking process seriously, the situation has started improving," President Mukherjee said.

"Two institutions of higher learning have come within the top 100 in the world in the year 2015. I expect more institutions to figure high in the rankings in the future," he added.

West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti were among those present on the occasion.