Time has come for India to produce its own Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, says Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais

Thane: Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais on Saturday urged students to come up with innovative ideas to make the country a developed nation by 2047, saying it's time for India to produce its own Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

The governor was speaking at the convocation ceremony of a private management institute at Mira Road, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Referring to the ‘Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth’ vision, which was recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, Bais said students graduating this year will be at the peak of their professional careers in 2047.

Destiny has given students a unique opportunity to transform India from a developing nation to a developed nation, he said, stressing that many countries of the world have taken a big leap to become developed nations at different times.

“After the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings, Japan rose from the ashes to become a leading manufacturing nation. South Korea, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries have also taken transformative leaps, changing the course of their development history. Today is the time for each of us to play our part in the journey of transformation,” said the governor.

He said many IITians and management graduates are opting for jobs in other countries with attractive packages which is causing a massive brain drain.

“But I am optimistic that there will come a stage when there will be reverse migration in India. I dream of a day when our management graduates will create their own world-class management firms and consulting firms. Our country will have its own legal firms, its own ‘Big Four’ taxation and audit firms,” he said.

‘Big Four’ refers to four large accounting firms – Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG).

The country’s success in the Chandrayaan mission, solar mission (Aditya-L1), Asian Games and other sporting events has boosted Indians’ confidence and instilled a ‘can-do’ spirit.

Appealing to the students to keep the flame of “we can” in their hearts, he said, “I urge you to be entrepreneurs, innovators and risk-takers.”

The governor added, “Amazon, Flipkart and Swiggy were basically ideas, which were successfully implemented. The time has come for India to produce its own Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg. Who knows, you might even have a Mark Zuckerberg hiding inside you, just waiting to come out. India is on the peak of greatness today.”

Local MLA Geeta Jain and Thane Collector Ashok Shingare were also present at the event.