India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan egged on graduates from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management to continue their good work in Singapore even as he encouraged them to leverage their expertise and contribute to India’s transformative journey.
At a gathering of about 125 IIT and IIM alumnae at the NPS International school on Monday, he called upon them to act as ambassadors of “Brand Bharat” and play a key role in driving innovation and fostering global collaborations.
“Our IITs and IIMs are exemplars of India’s knowledge prowess,” he said in a post on X afterwards. “I am confident this erudite gathering will be a catalyst in ensuring that India leads the fourth Industrial Revolution.
“The Amril Kal (period from 75 years to 100 years since India’s independence in 1947) is a decisive phase for India. It is an era of transformation. I encourage the alumni to seize the India moment and become active contributors in New India’s growth story.”
Meaningful engagement, collaboration, exchange of ideas and implementation of plans were the main focus of Mr Prahdhan’s three-day visit to Singapore, during which he met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, among other leaders, and visited educational Institutions including the National University of Singapore.
“I’m very much interested to have more academic and research oriented engagement with Singapore’s academia and industry and policy makers,” he told tabla!
“The future belongs to the younger generation and they have to be empowered. They have to be capacitated with new ideas and new models. We are very much engaged with the Singapore government in the areas of research, student exchange programmes and critical technology, like fintech.”
Mr Pradhan, considered the chief strategist behind the Bharatiya Janata Party’s recent assembly elections win in Haryana, pointed out that successful hackathons have been held in India and Singapore involving young minds from the two countries.
“Both the governments are putting some challenges in front of them, and they are using their intellectual capability to come up with new ideas,” he said.
“I am very happy that a lot of Indian origin people are doing well in Singapore, and the Singapore government is facilitating their prosperity. This is the sign of mutual understanding.”
Mr Pradhan and PM Wong discussed opportunities for internship programmes that would allow Indian students to gain practical experience in Singaporean companies, as well as the possibility of twinning Indian and Singaporean schools and universities.
While referring to Singapore as India’s trusted knowledge partner, Mr Pradhan said the way to expand the connection is through three critical pillars: talent, resource and market.
