Students can usher in major transformation if trained properly: Governor

“...dear students, you are the future pillars of our motherland and it’s the need of the hour to repay the nation with your knowledge which is a powerful tool to chisel our developing nation to a developed one,” he said, participating in the platinum jubilee celebrations of Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University here.

“Today, India has one of the youngest populations of the world with more than 60 crore people below the age of 30. This huge asset, if properly trained and deployed in the service of people of India, can bring out a major transformation,” he said.

He said India is the source of many world-class educational institutions and is emerging as one of the fastest developing nations.

“In this developing nation, the strongest future pillars aregoing to be you, my dear students,” he said.

Purohit said the Government of India was leaving no stone unturned in building world-class engineers by offering its support in terms of finance and creating platforms for students to shine.

Noting that India is holding third place after the United States and Britain in terms of the presence of start-ups, Purohit said the Central government has come up with a wide array of start-up schemes and funds to encourage, launch and for the growth of start-ups in the country.

Noted industrialist and India Cements Ltd Vice-Chairman and Managing Director N Srinivasan is the Chairman of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Committee. On the occasion, Srinivasan was honoured with the Distinguished Alumni Award of AC Tech along with a citation by Purohit.

Anna University Vice-Chancellor MK Surappa and Alagappa College of Technology Dean Professor S Meenakshisundaram were also present on the occasion.

India Cements Vice-Chairman and MD N Srinivasan, who received the Distinguished Alumni Award of AC Tech, on Saturday said the Alagappa College of Technology should be made a Centre of Excellence. Speaking after receiving the award from Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the AC Tech here, he said ‘’although Information Technology has developed, we still need engineers and high-quality engineers”. He said ‘’my suggestion would be to make AC Tech a Centre of Excellence where academic knowledge meets practical application’’. ‘’The amount of knowledge learnt by students during the semesters should be useful when they pursue higher studies,” he added. Going down the memory lane, Srinivasan recalled his student days in the premier institute. He pursued chemical engineering between 1960 and 1965 and passed out in the first class. He was a tennis champion and represented the college and Madras University and won titles. “I am really proud that I am an alumni of AC Tech. I am one of the early students of this college. Those days, AC Tech was quite young, but it was one of the premier technology institutes of the city of Madras, Later, IIT-Madras was started,” he said. Addressing a large number of alumni, who have gathered for the celebrations, he said “as Alumni of Alagappa College of Technology, it is a proud moment for all of us in joining and participating in the platinum jubilee celebrations of our college. We all have one common bond. That is, we all studied in AC Tech”. “Over the years, AC Tech has stood the test of time and has grown to become a glorious and great institution. Though it became part of Anna University, it has maintained its identity,” he added. Welcoming the vision of Alumni Association for developing AC Tech as a Centre of Excellence in the next few years, Srinivasan termed it as an excellent idea. ‘’We should bring back glory of this thought process as far as technology is concerned. I invite all the alumni to share their ideas for realising this vision,’’ he added.