President Ram Nath Kovind today addressed the centenary celebrations of the Harcourt Butler Technical University in Kanpur and said that institutions like HBTU should inculcate a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in their students.

He said that HBTU has been recognized for its contribution in the fields of oil, paint, plastic, and food technologies. The glorious history of this institution is linked to the industrial development taking place in India since the beginning of the 20th century.

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The technology and human resources provided by HBTU were instrumental behind the fame of Kanpur as ‘Manchester of the East’, ‘Leather City of the World’, and ‘Industrial Hub’.

Pointing to the current ranking of HBTU in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) which is at 166th, the President said that it should be the endeavor of all stakeholders of HBTU that by the year 2047, this university should be ranked among the top 25 institutes of the country.

He emphasized that to achieve this goal they have to work with determination. He was confident that all stakeholders would make every effort to take HBTU and the country to new heights.

Emphasizing the need for innovation and technology development in India, the President said that only those countries in the world remain at the forefront, which gives priority to innovation and new technology and continuously enables their citizens to face the challenges of the future.

“Our country has also increased its credibility in the field of technology but we still have a long way to go. In this context, the role of institutions like HBTU becomes important,” he said.

Students should be provided such an environment from the very beginning in which they can contribute to the development of the country by becoming a ‘job giver’ instead of a ‘job seeker’.

Pointing to the low participation of girl students in technical education, the President said that he had attended convocations of many educational institutions across the country where he observed that the performance of girls was very impressive.

But in the field of technical education participation of girl students is not satisfactory. He said that today the need of the hour is to encourage more and more girls to come forward in the field of technical education. It would boost women’s empowerment.