Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank felicitated 87 meritorious students from across the country here today. These students also witnessed the Republic Day Parade in National capital today. The students were awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation by the Minister to encourage them to achieve new heights in future. Secretary, MHRD, Shri Amit Khare and senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.Speaking on the occasion Shri Pokhriyal said that the students are the future of the country and the responsibility of creating a new and prosperous India is on them. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that the on completion of 100 years of independence, the students will provide leadership in various fields and that will be a moment of pride for us.Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that India has one of the world's largest education systems with over 1000 universities, 40000 colleges, 10725 standalone institutes, more than 1 crore teachers, 16 lakh schools and 34.6 million (34.6 crore) students. He added that India has largest number of youth population and this strength can make the country a global superpower and an economic giant. He added that the government has set an ambitious target of achieving a 50% (GER) gross enrollment ratio compared to the current 26.5% in higher education by 2030 to equip its working population with employable skills.He said that some scholars have described education as a Parasmani, which is an excellent universal means of achieving the goal and purpose of life. He added that the Government is committed to provide quality innovative education to all the students which paves the way for multi-faceted development. The Minister extended his best wishes to the students in the coming examinations.Every year Ministry of Defence requests MHRD to invite toppers to witness the Republic Day Parade. Accordingly, this Ministry seeks list of toppers from CBSE and Various Universities and Institutes from all over the Country. From the list provided by the CBSE and University/ Institute, the Ministry selects a student from each CBSE region (10th and 12th standard each) and University/Institutions who have secured maximum marks and figured at top position in the list.