N.G.P Collage's Graduation Day
The advances made in space technology in the country show the capability of Indians to absorb and adopt the latest technologies and to apply them for addressing issues of national development, T. Padmanabhan, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Education University, Chennai, said here on Saturday. Delivering the graduation day address of the Dr. N.G.P. Arts and Science College, he said India had become a leading space-faring nation, having acquired indigenous capability to design and develop sophisticated satellites and launch vehicles.
“Data from our remote sensing satellites are used for several applications like crop acreage and yield estimation, drought monitoring and assessment, flood mapping, land use and land cover mapping, mineral prospecting, urban planning and forest survey, etc., thus touching almost all facets of development. The INSAT, and launch vehicles like PSLV and GSLV have made our space programme self-reliant,” Mr. Padmanabhan said.
ISRO had taken several initiatives to use space technology for the benefit of society. One of them was in the educational sector through EDUSAT. It was the first satellite built anywhere in the world exclusively for serving the educational sector. “I suggest that we utilise this as much as possible, create repositories, offline content and linkages with partnering institutions to make it a teaching cum research network”.
He urged the young graduates to equip themselves with latest technology and better engineering and management practices. While globalisation made newer products and materials accessible to the common man at lower prices with assured quality, there were areas that remained neglected.
“Rural areas need considerable attention in healthcare. Most of the doctors and speciality hospitals are located in the metros. The ratio of doctors to patients is one doctor for every 2,000 patients. Thus, there is a need to improve this and take health care to the grassroots,” the Vice-Chancellor asserted. He also lamented that higher education had not reduced the gap between opportunities available to the rich and urban people and the poor illiterates. Higher education must develop India to be free from poverty, unemployment and fit to live with the G-8 nations. More than 500 candidates received degree certificates.
