Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday hosted a one-day meeting of Vice Chancellors, Directors and heads of 19 Central Institutes of Higher Learning as part of the interactions President Ram Nath Kovind has with the heads of Central Universities.

The President is Visitor to 146 Central Universities and institutions of higher learning. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that each of these institutes has a rich history.

“Each of these is instrumental to the realisation of social and economic goals that India has set itself as it strives to eliminate poverty and become a middle-income country,” he said.

“Becoming a middle-income country is not just a statistical achievement; it also calls for a change in mindsets and an expansion in ambitions. This is true for each of us as individuals. This is also true for your institutes,” the President said.

As such, he said, it was important to plan the future of the institutes in the context of an India with a large youth population for the foreseeable future – and with the prospect of a $5 trillion GDP by 2025. “This requires us to think big and to take risks – and each of your institutes must be equal to the challenge,” he said.

The President said that while developing their specialisations, these institutes should collaborate and learn from each other. This is possible for institutes in the same field. It is also possible across categories. He urged the heads of these institutes to make actionable and focused plans for collaboration.

The President nudged the institutes towards partnering with other universities in the country and outside, in their respective fields and beyond. He stated that knowledge cannot grow in silos and it is essential that each of them participate in the growth of the other.

The institutes which took part in the meeting included the Central Agriculture University; Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University; Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agriculture University; National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad; National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Guwahati; and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hajipur.