Focus On Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Dharmendra Tells Students

Union Steel and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan exhorted engineering students to move away from the “traditional notions of success” and focus on entrepreneurship, saying no country can grow without innovation.

Promoting entrepreneurship is a key objective of the BJP government at the Centre, he said during an interaction with students at the 72nd Annual Session of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers at IIT-Delhi, on Sunday.

Dharmendra said India has ample intellectual capacity to solve challenges and IITs are pride of the country. He said the premier institutes are “breeding grounds” for academic excellence.

“No economy can grow by leaps and bounds without the support of innovation driven by its scientific community,” he said, calling for a greater synergy between academia, industry and policy makers.

“Oil and Gas PSUs have set up a fund of Rs 300 crore to support start-ups. I have even advised the PSUs to support innovation and entrepreneurship by employees… India is moving towards a knowledge-based economy and soon it will be at the centre of global innovation,” he said.

India is a “nation of aspirations and our scientific community must contribute towards realising aspirations of our youth,” the Union Minister added.