The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that education is a key instrument in developing social infrastructure - for it breaks the vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. He was addressing the East West Cultural Festival in commemoration of the 121st birth anniversary of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder and Acharya of ISKCON, here today.The Vice President said that for millenniums, India has served as the seat of knowledge, combined with its deep and rich culture, it has taught countless people the righteous path of life. He further said that India has also been the land of Maha-purushas who dedicated their lives to serve humanity.The Vice President said that due to globalization and technology, the world has become interconnected and multi-culturalism is common. He further said that much before all of these began, Swami Prabhupada had already built a bridge between the East and the West and that bridge was a cultural bridge. It allowed the west to experience the rich heritage of India, he added.The Vice President said that we meet at a very peculiar time where on one hand the world is making rapid advancement in various fields; yet on the other hand many challenges in the form of terrorism, environmental degradation, drug addiction, hatred, hunger & poverty continue to stare at us. He further said that culture, on the other hand, is the life-sustaining force of social infrastructure. It enlivens ethical and moral values that seem to be eroding in our modern lives, he added.