Six old IITs contributed $300-$400 billion to world: Dharmendra Pradhan

The six old IITs have together contributed $300 to $400 billion to the world economy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said highlighting the contribution of the premier institutions.

“Someone who comes out of the IIT Bombay ecosystem can never be selfish. Our alumni are those who think of world welfare. We need to better document our contribution and promote our capacity,” Pradhan said, adding that there is a need to rebrand the potential considering the angle of technology, noting that technology is the forte of IIT Bombay.

Inaugurating Hostel 17, a new students’ hostel, at the IIT campus at Powai, he said he expected employers and entrepreneurs, not employees, to emerge from IITs.

Expressing his firm belief in the prowess of IIT Bombay, the minister said he is confident that the talented human capital of the institute will emerge as employment creators, innovate and work for global welfare, and also work towards building a strong and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

The education minister said that the era of fast-changing geopolitical realities and the pandemic-induced global challenges has brought upon us a plethora of opportunities.

“We face many big challenges today. Pandemic and natural disasters such as cyclones are situations we need to deal with. We witnessed three waves of the pandemic in three years beginning from 2020,” he said.

Considering this situation, he hoped that IIT Bombay will play a big role in ensuring that India has its rightful place in the new world order.

Pradhan said that the 21st century is going to be an era of knowledge and exhorted IIT Bombay to play a major role in it. “I strongly believe that there are only a few premier educational institutions in the country that have the answers to the problems of the 21st century and IIT Bombay is one among them’.

The minister noted that India has no deficit of knowledge and that India has shown that it has solutions to complex global problems.. He suggested that IIT should do mapping of India’s requirements for next 50 years, including in the areas of disaster management, clean energy, and sustainability and work towards fulfilling those requirements.

The minister exhorted the IIT Bombay community to play a decisive role in shaping the course of the nation in the coming decades. “When we look back after 5-10 years, we should be able to say with confidence that IIT Bombay has taken 21st century into our fold and contributed to the shaping of history.”

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