VP Jagdeep Dhankhar urges IIT Kanpur students to develop solutions for stubble burning

KANPUR: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called on IIT Kanpur students to work on smart, solution-oriented, scalable, and sustainable innovations for development and to find resolution for stubble burning.

The vice president was addressing the students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur on the topic 'role of innovation in the development of India', with Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, and the institute's Director Professor Manindra Agrawal also in attendance.

Dhankhar said various government schemes like the Atal Innovation Mission, Startup India, and Make in India have brought positive changes and are now bearing fruits. He said a small example of it was in the mobile phone sector, where the number of manufacturers went from a handful to so many that India is now making phones not only for the country, but for the world.

VP Jagdeep Dhankar's view on four fundamental principles

"Looking ahead, innovation must embody 4S and these principles are fundamental -- smart, solution-oriented, scalable, and sustainable. And these words mean a lot. Sustainable I say for a simple reason. Our planet is being threatened, and we don't have another planet to cohabit. So development has to be sustainable," the vice president said.

"Smart innovation like the revolutionary smartphone or India's UPI system should be simple, adaptable and transformational," he said, saying these measures have helped hundred million farmers receive direct funds in their accounts. "What the government does is different. Look at the recipient. Nobody expected. That deep technological penetration has brought about what? No leakage of funds, no middlemen, no corrupt elements, transparency and accountability, and more importantly expedition, fastest," Dhankhar said.

He said solution-orientated innovation requires understanding real-world problems across sectors from agriculture to healthcare. "This demands, my young friends, stepping out of comfort zones and engaging with diverse stakeholders across India," he said.

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VP appeals to find solutions for stubble burning problem

He also appealed to IIT Kanpur to work for farmers and find a solution to the problem of stubble burning. "I would greatly appreciate if IIT Kanpur can take welfare of the farmer in mission mode and some of the problems are so obvious, parali burning. "Please scratch your minds, find a solution. Our farmer today is virtually stressed because the farmer has not enjoyed the benefits of innovation," he added.

The vice president noted that innovation and technology have helped people even in villages get work done quickly like getting bus or train tickets, Aadhar, passport application, or submitting bills. "You would not believe that earlier people would take a day off from work just to submit their electricity bills because the queues would be so long. But all those queues have gone now because of innovation," he said.

Need for progress on 'manufacturing in India'

Dhankar said the economy will get the quantum jump it needs and manufacturing innovation is particularly critical. He stressed the need for progress from 'designing in India' to 'manufacturing in India'. "You are brilliant minds, there has to be optimal utilisation of natural resources because that is the premise of sustainable development," he said.

"If we are in harmony with nature, we have to work in a manner because the evolution of such an ecosystem will create opportunities in renewable energy, sustainable goods, organic farming, and agroforestry. Innovation should enable, as I said, farmers to adopt environmentally friendly practices while remaining economically viable," he said. "You must make it a point how to improve the farm economy with the size of the land dwindling.

The government has many schemes, hand-holding schemes, and cooperatives that find a place in our Constitution now. It's doing all it can, but the innovation has to emanate from it. Once that innovation is there, execution will follow," he said. He further added that India becoming a developed nation by 2047 is inevitable.