Dindigul (Tamil Nadu): Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan on Friday called for holistic rural development to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, saying villages must have quality infrastructure, essential services and livelihood opportunities that enable residents to lead dignified lives.
Addressing the Golden Jubilee Celebrations and 39th Convocation of Gandhigram Rural Institute in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, he said India’s strength lay in its villages, and rural development must remain a fundamental pillar of national progress.
The objective, he said, should not necessarily be to turn every village into a town, but to provide rural citizens with infrastructure, public services and living standards comparable to those available in urban areas.
Vice President Radhakrishnan stressed the need for better roads and transport links between villages, towns and cities to expand rural communities’ access to education, healthcare, markets and employment.
Recalling Gandhigram’s origins, he said its founders, Dr G. Ramachandran and Dr T. S. Soundaram Ramachandran, had drawn inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals to promote rural education, development and social transformation.
Gandhian principles of truth, non-violence, self-reliance and service continued to guide society and remained relevant to building a developed India, he said.
The Vice President highlighted progress in rural housing, drinking water, electricity, roads, sanitation, agriculture and digital connectivity over the past 12 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He noted that approximately 25 crore people had moved out of multidimensional poverty between 2014 and 2023, with welfare and development initiatives improving the lives of millions.
Referring to the Swachh Bharat Mission, he said it had increased awareness of cleanliness and stressed that maintaining clean public spaces was a collective responsibility of citizens as well as the government.
He also linked farmers’ welfare to national food security and highlighted PM-KISAN, under which eligible farmer families receive Rs 6,000 annually in three instalments through direct transfers to their bank accounts.
Turning to the changing employment landscape, Vice President Radhakrishnan urged students to develop skills in artificial intelligence, automation and other emerging technologies while strengthening their creativity, problem-solving abilities and entrepreneurial outlook.
He encouraged graduates to become job creators and said domestic manufacturing, indigenous technologies, local industries and innovations by young Indians represented a contemporary expression of Gandhi’s philosophy of Swadeshi.
The Vice President urged students to use their education for social welfare alongside personal advancement, with simplicity, self-reliance, responsibility and service as guiding principles. He also appealed to them to avoid drugs and substance abuse and spread awareness among their friends, families and communities.
Congratulating Gandhigram on completing 50 years as a deemed-to-be university, he expressed confidence that it would continue to advance sustainable rural development, inclusive growth and innovative research.
During the ceremony, Vice President Radhakrishnan presented gold medals to meritorious students and conferred honorary doctorates on spiritual leader and Tamil scholar Thavathiru Kundrakudi Ponnambala Adigalar, former senior ISRO aerospace scientist S. Nambi Narayanan and academician Professor S. S. M. Sundaram.
He inaugurated the Examination and Seminar Halls and the Pushpkunj Heritage Building. He also digitally laid the foundation stones for a 22 kV Power House and Control Room, an academic building for the School of Education and an academic complex comprising 30 classrooms.
The Vice President released the book “Inclusivity of India’s Ageing Population” and unveiled a Golden Jubilee commemorative postage stamp and postal cover.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chancellor Dr K. M. Annamalai, Vice-Chancellor Dr N. Panchanatham and Registrar Dr K. Marimuthu attended the event, along with faculty members, researchers, students, parents and other dignitaries.
[DD news]