President Kovind inaugurates Gyan Kumbh in Haridwar

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday inaugurated the first Gyan Kumbh in Uttarakhand, which is being jointly organised by the Higher Education Department of the Uttarakhand Government and the University of Patanjali in Haridwar.

While addressing the gathering, President Kovind said that the objective of the Gyan Kumbh is to enhance the quality of education in India. "The elixir that will come from Gyan Kumbh will help not only Uttarakhand but will also help in improving the quality of education in the whole country," he added.

President Kovind also conveyed the need to educate the weaker section of the society. He also appreciated the efforts of Yoga Guru Ramdev, who was also present at the event, in spreading awareness about Yoga in the country.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the event marked a "historic" day in the field of education.

"In comparison to our country, some small nations are far ahead of us (in terms of education), we have to develop better education in our rural areas, only three per cent of the colleges offer PhD. Even after having many world-class offices, we cannot provide better education to our students," Rawat said.

Meanwhile, Ramdev said, "Through this Gyan Kumbh, today, we have to build India by incorporating knowledge in every field of the society. We will be successful in this and through this knowledge Kumbh, the entire country will be appreciated, just as we have the yoga revolution in the same way as the knowledge of all the world."

President Kovind also addressed the first convocation ceremony at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh.