‘Development of rural areas should not erode their unique identities but must fortify their spirits. The facilities in villages must resemble those of a city but the soul and the values of Indian villages, must be preserved’, the Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said. He was addressing the gathering at the presentation ceremony of AICTE-ECI-ISTE Chhatra Vishwakarma Awards and AICTE- SAGY Initiative awards in New Delhi.
Naidu said that the Awards would challenge young students to come up with novel ideas that have great potential to impact life in villages through technological interventions at the grass root level. Expressing his agreement with Mahatma Gandhi’s statement that ‘the future of India lies in its villages’, the Vice President said that the development of villages is an essential precondition to the development of the nation.
The Vice President said that educational institutions must re-orient their curricula to ensure that students spend time in rural areas, interacting with people and understanding their problems.
The Vice President opined that by steering itself towards eco-friendly industrialisation, sustainable urbanisation, and inclusion of the rural economy, India has the potential to not only become the world’s fastest growing economy but also to serve as an inspiration, a model to the world
Expressing disappointment that our vision for development is still largely urban-centric, Naidu lamented that rural India still lagged behind urban India in terms of crucial development indicators.
