The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that development and environment need not be antithetical to each other, but must foster a complementary and symbiotic relationship. He was interacting with the research scholars, students and faculty of the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh today. The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Brig. (Dr) B.D. Mishra, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Pema Khandu and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that institutes like NERIST have a special responsibility to take the lead in developing environment-friendly technologies in the wake of climate change and its adverse impact. He further said that all scientific endeavors must aim at finding solutions to the problems faced by the society. Science has no meaning if it does not the touch the lives of the people.
Scientists and technocrats cannot remain in ivory towers, he added.The Vice President said that teachers have a major role to play in helping the students strike a healthy balance - while making proper use of technology. Their collective energies have to be channelized towards making technology a potent tool for intervention in bridging the developmental gaps, he added.Complementing the NERIST for adopting a modular pattern of education, the Vice President said that employability ratio of our engineering and management graduates remains a cause of concern.The Vice President advised the young graduates and youth of the state to make full use of the skill development programme run by the government. He called on institutions like NERIST to play an active role in imparting skill-based education at various levels. Give your best with all honesty and be proud of all your ventures in life and contribute significantly towards the avowed task of nation building, he added.