Naidu asks Indian varsities to take up 'big challenge', improve global rankings

Noting that Indian varsities had not been able to make it to the list of world's top universities, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today asked them to treat it as a "big challenge" and work hard to distinguish themselves from others.

"Our universities have not been able to make their place in the list of the world's best universities. We should take it as a big challenge. The universities should focus on imparting to students the knowledge and skills they need to survive in today's fiercely competitive world," Naidu said, addressing the convocation of ICFAI University here.

According to Times Higher Education's World Reputation Rankings 2018, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, was the only Indian institution to make it to the top 100 universities in the world this year.

The IISc was ranked in the 91-100 band of the annual list topped by American universities Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford, with the UK's Cambridge and Oxford completing the top five.

Asking the students who were conferred with the degrees at the convocation to bring their knowledge to the service of the nation, he said India's prestige has grown internationally in the recent years and "this opportunity should be utilised to strengthen the country's economy".

"Today, the world is moving fast and there is tough competition. It is the era of L.P.G, meaning Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization. The world is fast becoming a global village thanks to information technology. You should know how to acquire new knowledge and achieve excellence," Naidu said.

He asked students not to confine themselves to books but cultivate the habit of thinking about the nation and the society and make their valuable contribution to schemes of national importance such as Swachh Bharat.

The emergence of India as the sixth largest economy in the world is a matter of pride for everybody, he said, crediting it to the steady process of reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Different kinds of apprehensions were expressed when GST was implemented but now it is proving to be helpful in developing our economy, " he said, adding that challenges may crop up but victory over them is guaranteed under the leadership of Modi.

Naidu also invoked Swami Vivekananda and asked students not to stop until the goal is achieved.

Exhorting the students to dream big, Naidu reminded them of the teachings of Swamy Vivekananda who said, "Arise, awake and stop not until the goal is reached.