Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said in Kolkata today that this is possibly the best of times happening for the Indian student community and now, it is up to us to ensure how to make the best of this opportunity. In his convocation address at the reputed Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there was a time till few decades ago when Indian students and scholars going abroad had to struggle hard to earn recognition. So much so that, even in case of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, many foreign writers including William Butler Yeats came forward to translate Gitanjali into English only after Rabindranath Tagore had been awarded a Nobel Prize. But, the world has come a full circle today, said Dr Jitendra Singh, and Indian students and scholars going abroad are immediately absorbed by the best of the institutions because their caliber and diligence stand fully proven. Not only this, most of the IT Companies and prestigious economic fora across the world are today being manned by Indians,he said.
Emphasizing the importance of blending tradition with modernity, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Vivekananda University run by Ramakrishna Mission has set the most remarkable example of achieving this. He said, the hallmark of Vivekananda's doctrine is that while it is deeply embedded in India's past heritage, at the same time, it envisages the vision of future India several decades ahead. To meet the contemporary challenges faced in India, however, Dr Jitendra Singh suggested the need to revisit some of the areas in education sector. Just as science without religion is incomplete and religion without science is inadequate, similarly, he said, education without vocational skill does not serve its full purpose, while vocational skill without education fails to live up to its desired objective. Referring to a number of youth related and student oriented programmes initiated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during last two years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, whether it is "Startup India" or "Digital India", all these are aimed at raising the capacity potential of Indian youth to a level where they can lead the rest of the world. Earlier, Vice Chancellor Swami Atmapriyananda, while welcoming Dr Jitendra Singh to the University, said that the student community was keen to listen to his original ideas and appreciated the academic interaction between him and the faculty members of the University.