People-centric policies turned India into most aspirational nation in the world: V-P Dhankhar

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said India at the moment is in an economic upsurge with phenomenal infrastructural growth, deep digitisation, and technological penetration because people of the country have tasted the fruits of development in the last decade.

“People-centric policies have been highly rewarding. This has converted the nation into the most aspirational nation in the world at the moment,” Dhankhar said while speaking at a ceremony here marking 75 Years of KPB Hinduja College of Commerce.

“India today is the envy of the world for its Demographic Dividend,” he added.

“Corporate leaders should view investment in education beyond philanthropy. It is investment in our present, investment in our future and it is investment for the development of industry, business and trade. Quality education is a gift and we in the country must work towards educational excellence,” remarked the Vice President. He said that philanthropic endeavours should not be driven by the philosophy of commodification and commercialisation, adding “Our health and education sectors are being plagued by these.”

“Education is the concurrent responsibility of the government and the private sector. Those in industry, trade, business and commerce must come forward and accord the highest priority to education,” he commented.

He hailed the Hinduja group’s contribution saying that the group in this context offers emulative instance by confining philanthropy much away from commerce. The Vice President also asked the students to keep on learning and also focus on self-learning saying that they are their best teachers.

Vice President Dhankhar said, “We had glorified institutions, Odantapuri, Takshila, Vikramshila, Somapura, Nalanda, Vallabhi. The world formed, and scholars came from every nook and corner of the globe to get knowledge and give knowledge and share knowledge. Thirst of knowledge was satisfied. What happened about 1200 years ago! Nalanda, ancient India's intellectual jewel. It housed 10,000 students and 2000 teachers, a nine-storey building and what happened in 1193? Bakhtiyar Khilji reckless destroyer of our culture, our academic institution, the premises were set to fire.”

He further added, “For months, fire consumed vast libraries, turning hundreds and thousands of irreplaceable manuscripts on mathematics, medicine, and philosophy to ash. This vandalised devastation wasn't merely architectural, but represented the systemic erasure of centuries of knowledge.”

He called upon the Parliamentarians and thought leaders to monetise every moment of this century. “We have to work to revive institutions like Nalanda, our intellectual legacy, and this is essential for realising the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. We cannot afford to fall victim or prey to narratives that emanate from sources that are inimical to the very existence of Bharat,” he said.

The Vice President announced that the Indian Council of World Affairs headed by him will soon sign an MoU with the KPB Hinduja College of Commerce saying that the MoU will fructify in the next two months. “The MoU will give you the exposure to global events and there will be footprints of global personalities here,” he added.

The Vice President mooted the idea of a confederation of alumni associations which will go a long way in the evolution of sectoral policies in the government. “Such convergence of talent is a valuable tool for the government. It can enlighten the government on policy pathways,” he said.