Nitin Gadkari calls for tribal, rural and agri-centric research, innovation for prosperity of villages

Union minister Nitin Gadkari. File Pic

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said there was a need for tribal, rural and agriculture-centric research and innovation so that villages in the country prosper, reported news agency PTI.

He was addressing the second convocation ceremony of the Mahatma Gandhi Mission University in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

"We are the largest growing economy. Our prime minister dreams of making our country a USD 5 trillion economy. For this, we need tribal, rural and agriculture-centric research and innovation. Earlier, 90 per cent of the country's population lived in villages and now the number has come down to 65 per cent. People have not migrated happily, but because of the problems in villages," the road transport and highways minister said.

"Today, we have cotton that is cheap, but clothes are costly. We have cheaper oranges and tomatoes, but their juices are costly. We need to bring prosperity to the villages through the diversification of agriculture to the power and energy sector. Biomass will give ethanol and we can create bio-CNG and LNG with agricultural waste," he said.

Currently, the country is importing fossil fuels worth Rs 16 lakh crore. If farmers get involved in energy generation and are able to produce energy worth Rs 10 lakh crore, villages will prosper and people will return to villages, he added.

Appealing to students to not take shortcuts, Nitin Gadkari said, "Students sitting here should become job providers and not seekers. There is no age for learning. We should learn whatever we can from anyone. In many cases, people who didn't go to school are doing wonders."

During the event, the university honoured late poet Vamandada Kardak with D Litt posthumously for his work and writings for social equality. University Chancellor Ankushrao Kadam and Vice-Chancellor Vilas Sapkal, former education minister Kamalkishor Kadam were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on October 5 said the country's doctors command respect the world over and maintained that out of 10 best physicians in the UK and the USA, six were of Indian origin.

He said affordable medical treatment and ensuring availability of cheap medicines were the need of the hour.

The association is a premier organization in the country devoted to promotion and advancement of knowledge and skills in the field of surgical and aesthetic dermatology.

The Union minister praised Indian doctors and said they command respect the world over.

Gadkari said out of 10 best doctors in the UK and the USA, 6 were from India.

The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur underlined the need to increase the number of medical colleges and AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) campuses in the country in view of increasing demand for them.

Gadkari said the country needs more physicians and pitched for increasing the retirement age of government doctors to bridge the demand-supply gap.

The veteran politician called for public-private partnership in medical sciences and emphasized on providing qualitative education in the key field.

(With inputs from PTI)