Vellore: Dr. G Viswanathan, Chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), emphasised that the development of education is vital for transforming India into a developed nation by 2047. He made these remarks during the 40th Convocation Ceremony of VIT, held on Saturday under his leadership.
The ceremony was graced by Supreme Court Justice R Mahadevan as the chief guest, who conferred degree certificates to the graduating students. A total of 8,310 students received undergraduate degrees, 2,802 received postgraduate degrees, and 451 were awarded doctoral degrees. Additionally, 203 students were recognised for their rankings, and 68 outstanding students received gold medals. Tamil Nadu Police Academy Director DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore was conferred a Ph.D. in Disaster Management. Sivakumar Sundaram, Chief Executive Officer of The Times of India, attended as the guest of honor and delivered a speech.
In the event, student hostels are named after Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Jagadish Chandra Bose were inaugurated. The convocation was attended by VIT Vice Presidents Shankar Viswanathan, Sekar Viswanathan, GV Selvam, Trustee Ramani Balasundaram, Executive Director Sandhya Pentareddy, Assistant Vice President Kadhambari S Viswanathan, Vice Chancellor VS Kanchana Bhaaskaran, Associate Vice Chancellor Parthasarathy Mallick, and Registrar T Jayabarathi, among others.
Dr. G Viswanathan’s Address:
Dr. Viswanathan highlighted the long-standing demand to allocate 6 per cent of India’s GDP to education, noting that only 3 per cent is currently spent. “State governments bear 75 per cent of education expenditure, with the central government covering the remainder. Tamil Nadu leads the nation by allocating 21 per cent of its budget to education,” he said.
He pointed out that the central government allocates only 2.5 per cent of its Rs 55 lakh crore budget to education. With 4.3 crore students currently enrolled in higher education, the new education policy aims to achieve a 50 per cent Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), requiring the student count to rise to 8 crore. This, he stressed, demands more classrooms, infrastructure, and funding.
Dr. Viswanathan noted that Indian universities lag in global rankings, with VIT currently within the top 500. “We must strive to reach the top 100 or 200 globally,” he urged.
He also highlighted VIT’s efforts in supporting underprivileged students, with 10,000 students from the backward North Arcot region—now divided into four districts with a population of 75 lakh—receiving scholarships.
He described black money, tax evasion, and corruption as national diseases, stating, “We lose Rs 8-9 lakh crore annually to tax evasion and Rs 6 lakh crore to corruption. Indian black money in Swiss banks surpasses the combined total of other countries. The student community must fight to eradicate these issues.”