Chennai: Even as environmentalists and public are protesting against various projects on environmental grounds, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar called for an inclusive development model that can take care of ‘our environment and natural endowments.’
He was delivering the convocation address at the 55th convocation of IIT Madras here on Friday. “India cannot adopt a foreign and path beaten model of capitalist development. Our model will necessarily have to be inclusive not only to ensure the welfare of all our people but also to take care of our environment and our natural endowments,” he said.
“Indian economy is on the cusp of completing its economic transformation. Past legacies have been shrugged off and a strong foundation has been laid,” he said.
According to him, the economy has been evolving at a rapid speed in the last four years. “To meet the aspirations of our young population, we must create good jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all. For this, rapid double-digit growth needs to be sustained for the next three decades,” he noted.
He further urged IIT students to be a part of India's future development trajectory and also to shoulder the responsibility to shape a new India. In his speech, he was also critical about the crony capitalism and urged everyone to “get rid of it.”
IIT Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi presented a report on IIT Madras performance last year. He also listed out various centres set up in the previous year including Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Centre of Excellence on Dam Safety and Dam Rehabilitation.
Rahul Kejriwal won the President of India prize for the highest CGPA in B.Tech and dual degree. He also won the Bharat Ratna M Visvesvaraya memorial prize and B. Ravichandran memorial prize.
Giridhar Sriraman won the Governor's prize for the best all-round proficiency in curricular and co-curricular activities and Motorola prize for the best all-round performance. Totally, 2,267 students got their degrees in the convocation.
