India should be an AI builder – Rekha Gupta, CM of Delhi
“India should not just be an AI user but it should become an AI builder,” said Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi at the 41st Convocation of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) held on Saturday.
VIT, Vellore is organizing its 41st Convocation as a two-day program. The Convocation is being held on Saturday & Sunday in 7 sessions.
Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi was the Chief Guest and Babu Unnikrishnan, Vice President & CTO – BFSI, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was the Guest of Honor for the first session that is dedicated as a session for Rank Holders and Ph.D Scholars.
G.Viswanathan, Chancellor; Kanchana Bhaaskaran, Vice Chancellor; Partha Sharathi Mallick, Pro Vice Chancellor; Jayabarathi, Registrar; Sankar Viswanathan, Sekar Viswanathan, G.V.Selvam, Vice Presidents; Kadhambari Viswanathan, Assistant Vice President; Sandhya Pentareddy, Executive Director, VIT and other senior academic executives, students and parents attended.
In total, 11,276 undergraduate and postgraduate students are receiving their degree certificates. In addition to this, 781 students receiving Ph.D. degrees and 3 receiving integrated Ph.D. degrees, 248 top-ranking students are receiving the Certificates of academic distinction, while 84 are receiving gold medals.
The ceremony held a personal moment for Rekha Gupta, whose son, Nikunj Gupta, graduated alongside his batchmates. The Chief Minister was seen seated below the stage, watching with visible pride as her son received his degree certificate.
Prior to the convoctation, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated an Centre for Advanced Research centre for Bacteriophage and Infectious Diseases at VIT.
Viksit Bharat possible via Quality Higher Education – G.Viswanathan
The Chancellor of VIT, G. Viswanathan, shared that India needs to achieve more in higher education.
Citing the National Education Policy 2020, he said that India aspires to have its Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education reach 50% by 2035, up from the current 30%. He emphasized that India also needs to compete with other Asian countries in GER. At present, South Korea leads with a 90% gross enrolment ratio, followed by Japan at 60%, China at 60%, Malaysia at 40%, Thailand at 45%, etc.
He underlined that is time to give a strong push to higher education so that the Prime Minister’s vision of turning India into a developed nation by 2047 (the centenary of our independence) can be realized. He opined that this transformation is possible only through higher education.
He emphasized that it is the duty of both the Union and State governments to ensure that students from poor and middle-class backgrounds have access to higher education.
Have an Open Mind – Babu Unnikrishnan
In his address to the students, Babu Unnikrishnan noted that they are graduating at a time when technology is at an inflection point.
Previously, technology functioned primarily as an enabling tool; today, rapid advancements, particularly in AI, are transforming every field. AI acts as a key differentiator and a great leveller by democratizing access to knowledge and information.
He urged graduates to maintain an open mind as they enter the next phase of their journey, specifically regarding how they approach new experiences, collaborate with others, and respond to real-world situations.
“What you learn on this campus is valuable, but how you apply and adapt it to real situations is an entirely different ball game,” he remarked.
Solve Your City’s Problems – Rekha Gupta
India serves as a laboratory of innovation, and the Delhi government has actively leveraged the intellectual potential of its youth, said Rekha Gupta.
She shared that the Delhi government organized an innovation challenge with IIT Delhi to address urban issues such as pollution, traffic, and waste management.
“Those students really helped us, and their solutions are actively benefiting the city of Delhi,” she said. Stating this, she appealed to the graduates to focus on solving local urban challenges and contribute to national innovation.
Turning to artificial intelligence, she stated that while AI is vital across all sectors, the goal should be to build indigenous capabilities rather than merely consume existing tools. She shared that under Prime Minister Modi, the Union Government has invested heavily in the India AI Mission, alongside semiconductors, computing infrastructure, space, defense, and robotics.
