JOIN USMake agriculture sustainable innovatively: Gadkari
Contending that innovation and research could alone contribute to the immense growth of the country, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday appealed to students and research scholars to come out with “out-of-the-box ideas” to make agriculture, the largest provider of employment, sustainable and profitable for farmers.
Talking about the need to generate more jobs in the country, Gadkari said Micro, Small and Medium Industries (MSMEs) have so far created 11 crore jobs in the country and the government plans to generate 5 crore new jobs in this sector alone in the next five years.
Citing several instances on how “innovative thinking” and “out-of-the-box” ideas during his tenure as Minister in the Maharashtra Government and in the Centre have not just saved money but brought in immense development, Gadkari said one can make miracles if they are able to apply their mind with leadership qualities.
Delivering his address at the 34th convocation of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) here, Gadkari said the presence of mind and innovative thinking of his OSD, who is an IIT graduate, had saved the government Rs 16,000 crores as he proposed change of alignment in the New Delhi-Mumbai Expressway thereby reducing the distance by more than 200 kms.
“Arun Narendranath, the OSD who is a graduate from IIT-Madras, saw the route via Google Maps and suggested change in the alignment that was approved earlier. The new route passes through backward area which could usher in development in those regions. This is how ideas work wonders,” he said.
Talking at length on using agricultural produce to manufacture bio-CNG fuel and bio-aviation fuel, Gadkari asked students to come up with innovative ideas to make agriculture sustainable for farmers. “Agriculture is the largest provider of employment in the country and we should empower these farmers so that they continue to produce more and more jobs in the country,” he said, asking students to focus on development in rural and under-developed areas across the country.
While noting that food waste and knowledge are being converted into wealth, Gadkari said the agriculture sector has “ample capacity and capability” to generate more jobs and usher in innovation. On job generation in the MSME sector, Gadkari said the sector generated 11 crore jobs in the country and announced that the government proposes to generate 5 crore new jobs in the next five years.
He also said the Government proposes to generate wind power from Tuticorin, Kandla and Paradip ports and desalination plants to solve the drinking water problems besides producing power at a low cost of Rs. 2 50.