Bengaluru, Jul 28 (DHNS): As one of the leading states driving India's economy, Karnataka's growth story mirrors the growth journey of India. The State has a supportive eco-system that has transformed it into a prominent hub in the global industrial landscape, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday.

The State contributes six per cent of GDP and seven per cent of fixed capital. More than 80 Fortune 500 companies and 700 multinational companies are based here, he said while addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the centenary celebrations of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) here. The FKCCI was founded by Sir M Visvesvaraya on May 8, 1916.

Speaking about the financial affairs at the national level, he said India was likely to regain the eight per cent plus level soon. “At over 250 billion US dollars we now have a comfortable foreign exchange reserves to meet the next set of challenges from global developments. At an average of 7.8 per cent per year during the last years, India's economic performance has been impressive. Our GDP grew at 8.6 and 8.9 pc in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively. The current account deficit has narrowed to 1.7 percent of GDP in April-December 2014 from 2.3 per cent in the corresponding period last year,” Pranab Mukherjee added.

While 85 million people were lifted out of poverty during 2009-12, the country needed to put in more efforts. Poverty alleviation was not sufficient for a nation aspiring to be among the developed economies but the country needed poverty elimination, he stated.

He opined that a solution to the problem of poverty and inequality was to create a skilled labour force. He urged the industrialists to take part in corporate social responsibility activities to achieve this objective.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala asked the industrialists to focus on increasing productivity. A state that has strong finances will see more progress, he said. Chief Minister Siddarmaiah who was also present at the event encouraged the Federation to give inputs to the State government for better implementation of policies. The Governor released the FKCCI centenary brochure on the occasion.

World-class education must to unleash youth's potential: President

Mysuru, Jul 28 (DHNS): President Pranab Mukherjee has emphasised building a world-class education system to unleash the potential of the youth of the country.

Addressing a large gathering that comprised academicians and students at the launch of year-long centenary celebrations at the University of Mysore here on Monday, the President dwelt on the education scenario in India, especially higher education and the steps needed to introduce innovative changes.

He observed: “India, with two-thirds of 1.25 billion people below 35 years of age, holds great prospects to become one of the front-ranking nations in the world. To unleash the potential of her energetic youth, a world-class educational system is necessary.

“Though India’s higher education is the second largest in the world, with the enrolment rate at 20 per cent, it is not enough to improve the future prospects of the youth and harness opportunities in an increasingly knowledge-intensive world. Many bright scholars go abroad for higher studies for want of good quality institutions in the country.”

The President continued: “Though IITs, NITs and central universities are being set up to expand the higher education sector, the quality of graduates remains a mirage. If analysed, there are only a handful of institutions possessing the quality to produce graduates for global market.” “As a result,” the President went on, “Indian institutions are absent from the top 200 positions in the world university rankings published by the reputed agencies.”

Mentioning the necessity to promote scientific temper among the students, besides setting up innovation clubs like in several central universities, the President felt that such measures would encourage grassroots innovators. He urged the University of Mysore to spearhead ‘Innovation Movement’ in the region.

Mukherjee described as unfortunate the dwindling research activities and noted “there is a general neglect of research in our universities. This must be reversed.” He noted that research activities could help find solutions to many socio-economic problems that have eluded the country so far.

The President advised higher education institutions to apply dynamic teaching models, by deploying technology to effectively disseminate academic materials to the students in large numbers and engage the resource persons through e-platforms and develop a link with research and other academic institutions.

He advocated focusing on collaborative partnerships in pursuing frontier research and creating synergy in the development of new concepts to aid human well-being. Besides, innovative changes should be brought on several fronts to transform higher education sector. It includes hiring good faculty, attractive teaching methods to make the art of pedagogy a better career option for bright students and also hiring of faculty from foreign countries, he remarked.