The Vice-President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu declared that he has taken up as a mission to regularly interact with students, young researchers and scientists to motivate them to build a better and secure India.Interacting with scientists and students during his maiden visit as the Vice- President to a CSIR institution— the NGRI in Hyderabad, he announced that he would henceforth regularly visit various universities and scientific institutions to motivate them as also to understand the academic and research activities being undertaken by them.Recalling the famous words of Mahatma Gandhiji : “ Earth produces enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”, he asked the scientists of NGRI, CCMB and IICT to work for physical security to protect from natural hazards like earthquakes, energy security and water security and ensure a safe and secure future for the people.Cautioning against “playing with nature”, the Vice-President asked the people to protect and preserve nature and culture for ensuring a better. Emphasizing the importance of using water judiciously, he said “reduce, re-use and recycle” water.
During his two-hour long interaction with Directors of NGRI, CCM and IICT as well as senior scientists from other CSIR institutes, he appreciated the efforts of the respective institutions and enquired as to how their research was translating to provide last mile connectivity and empowering the farmers and the common man. He wanted to know if their technologies were helping the farmers to make value addition and if improved varieties of seeds were reaching all farmers and whether the researchers were spending enough time in the villages to understand the problems faced by farmers.He also enquired about the earthquake-resistant technologies for protecting buildings and in particular vital installations, dams and bridges.Observing that science and technology has been an integral part of India’s culture and tradition, he told the scientists to find solutions to the present and emerging problems. “Mankind faces numerous challenges related to climate change, global warming, sustainable development, clean energy, water etc., I earnestly urge the earth scientists present here to work towards sustainable goals, meet societal needs and facilitate nation-building. The ultimate goal of science and technology is improvement in the quality of the life”.