Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said education is gradually becoming a new medium of engagement with neighbouring countries and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati can become a pivotal centre for the same.
"Guwahati is an important part of the northeast, and it is also the centre of India's Act East Policy. This region is also the gateway to India's relation with South East Asia. The mainstay of relations with these countries has been culture, commerce, connectivity and capacity. Education is gradually becoming a new medium of engagement with our neighbours. IIT Guwahati can become a pivotal centre for the same," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the convocation of IIT, Guwahati through video-conferencing.
Addressing the students, he said, "You have gone through a transformational change. You have expanded your thinking process. There is a big role that IIT Guwahati and its professor have played in doing so. We have focused on the infrastructure of north-east in terms of railway connectivity, air connectivity and waterways connectivity. It is creating new opportunities. I want to say to the passing students to think about their research and how it can help the north-east region for development."
PM Modi said that IIT Guwahati is the first such IIT that has introduced a two-year research program on e-mobility and it is also leading the integration of science and engineering in all B.Tech level courses. "There are immense possibilities in research in the sector of solar energy, wind energy, biomass and hydroelectric energy. Rice, tea and bamboo are indigenous of this region. There is biodiversity in this region, as well as huge traditional knowledge," he said.
"The states of northeast invest a lot of energy and efforts in fighting off disasters such as floods and earthquakes. I request IIT Guwahati to start a Centre for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction. This centre will provide expertise to combat these calamities," he added. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal also participated in the event.
