When Piketty came to India
Thomas Piketty, the French economist and author of the famous book Capital in the Twenty First Century, was recently in India. He delivered a lecture on the state of inequality globally as well as in India.
We all have the solemn responsibility to do our part in making India shine on the world stage, said President Ram Nath Kovind while addressing the 16th annual convocation of the Thiruvalluvar University in Vellore on Wednesday.
The President said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that India’s higher education system has expanded to reach out to serve the rural and marginalised sections. In the process, it has become the third-largest education system in the world. However, there is no room for complacency, and we have to catch up for the lost time if we aspire to scale greater heights.
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The President said that India had a rich system of education prior to British rule. Gandhiji described it as a “beautiful tree” that was cut down by what the British rulers called reforms. We are yet to fully recover from those drastic changes and recover our legacy. The National Education Policy 2020 is a well-planned and decisive step in that direction. It has a holistic vision of transforming the way children and youth will be educated to make learning a part of personal development while also serving the needs of society.
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The President said that the new policy also takes into account what is needed to build a prosperous and self-reliant nation. For this, the higher education system must enable equity, expertise and empowerment. The National Education Policy seeks to achieve these objectives.
The President said that in a short span of about two decades since it was established, Thiruvalluvar University has emerged as one of the prestigious universities in the country. It has blossomed into a premier institution, imparting quality education to students, many of whom are from economically and educationally backward regions.
Addressing the students, the President said that we all have the solemn responsibility to do our part in making India shine on the world stage. We also have the opportunity to do so.
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