Kharagpur (West Bengal), Sep 15 (IANS): Expressing concern over no Indian university featuring among the top 200 global institutions, President Pranab Mukherjee Saturday urged the country's premier educational institutes to step up efforts to join the league of the best.

"I must convey my sense of dismay on seeing a recent report that not a single Indian university, including the premier Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs), featuring in the 200 top-rated universities in the world," said Mukherjee in his address during the 58th annual convocation of IIT-Kharagpur.

"You may question the report but for me the important question is why are we - a rising economic superpower - not able to promote our standards to be rated indisputably among the top 10 or even top 50 or 100," said Mukherjee.

Welcoming IIT-Kharagpur's 'vision 2020' - to be in top 20 global education institutes by the year 2020 - Mukherjee urged other premier Indian educational institutes to follow suit.

"To realise our true potential it is necessary to start now with the ardent task of developing in our students a scientific temperament. It is necessary to design and develop, without delay, advance technology at competitive cost which would be a boon for our industry, trade and commercial sectors," he said.

He also stressed the need and importance of collaboration of Indian educational institutes and students with those abroad for enhanced experience and learning.

Describing the younger generation as "critical to the development of the society and nation", the president urged them to "learn more, explore and contribute more".

"I would expect you to channelise your creative energy to contribute in an exceptional and significant way towards the nation's goal of achieving intrinsic growth and sustainable development of all strata of the society," was Mukherjee's appeal to the passing out batch.