PRESIDENT OF INDIA GRACES THE 19TH CONVOCATION OF TEZPUR UNIVERSITY

Rashtrapati Bhavan : 26.02.2022

The Tezpur University community should provide innovative solutions to local and national problems, said the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind. He was addressing the 19th Convocation of the Tezpur University at Tezpur, Assam today (February 26, 2022). He said that the students and faculty of Tezpur University should try to make it a major centre of innovation. He urged them to encourage community participation and use local resources for finding solutions to local and national problems. He was happy to note about innovative solutions provided by Tezpur University for making safe drinking water reach many villages in Assam. He said that the scope of the university’s engagement with villages should be further expanded. It can adopt some villages for helping in their overall development under Universities’ Social Responsibility.

The President said that Assam is gifted with extraordinary beauty of nature and rich bio-diversity. This has to be preserved. Every resident of Assam, especially the youth has to be very active on the fronts of conservation and sustainable development. He was happy to note about the renewable energy initiatives of the Tezpur University, especially in the villages. He said that the young population has greater stakes in keeping the planet green and they have to demonstrate greater awareness through their action.

The President said that Assam has done a commendable job in conserving bio-diversity. Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, as also the Elephant Reserve are impressive examples of conservation. He said that conservation must be the watch word for every citizen, especially the student community.

Noting that the North-Eastern states give high priority to organic farming, the President said that the Tezpur University can play a major role in branding and marketing of agricultural produce of this region. He was happy to note that the university has received approval under the ‘Prime Minister-Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme’ for setting up an incubation centre to process jackfruit and ready to eat cereals-based products. And the Food Engineering & Technology Department has been recognised as State Level Technical Institute for implementation of the Scheme. Referring the unique Joha rice of Assam which is known for its excellent taste and aroma, he said that universities of Assam can help the farmers by branding, popularising and marketing this unique variety of rice. There are many such agricultural products that can be promoted, he added.

Pointing to the fact that academic activities have been affected by the Covid pandemic, the President said that the pandemic has had serious impact on the education of the relatively vulnerable sections of our people. He said that the National Education Policy 2020 which was released during the pandemic contains specific focus on digital education with the help of technology. With a view to making higher education more accessible, the central government has decided to establish a Digital University to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with personalized learning experience at the doorsteps of students. The Digital University will provide education in different Indian languages and ICT formats. He said that Tezpur University can become an active stakeholder in this initiative, specially by providing high quality digital content in Assamese and other languages of the North-East.

The President urged the entire team of Tezpur University to keep past, present and future students bound by the spirit of oneness and move rapidly towards the goals set by the university – xopaan bogaam teebro gotire. He said that by moving fast to achieve ambitious targets, the university would be able to contribute meaningfully to India’s emergence as a much more prosperous and strong nation by the year 2047 when the students of today will be among the decision makers. He said that the real spirit behind celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, marking 75 years since our independence, is to build upon our learning so far and aim for higher goals. He urged Tezpur University to strive to be among the top 10 universities in the NIRF ranking in the near future.