President emphasizes importance of Indian youth

'Metro Man' E Sreedharan rued those engineers produced by engineering institutes in India who are of "very sub-standard" quality.

He emphasized the paradox of IITians going abroad for better employment/higher studies while the fate of others is uncertain.

He was speaking about the "professional ethics and role of engineers" at UN Mahida Memorial Lecture organized by Gujarat State Centre of Institution of Engineers (India).

During his address, Sreedharan referred to a magazine's study that surveyed about 300 engineering colleges.

The report showed that based on the quality of all the engineers produced by the surveyed colleges, only 29% of them were employable.

While 30% of the engineers could be made employable through further studies, the other 48% - nearly half of the engineers - are simply unemployable.

Sreedharan opined engineers in India are unable to come up fast and not making enough efforts to keep themselves up-to-date.

He added that in the engineering profession, acquiring knowledge is the most important thing; engineers have to be experts.

He said knowledge gained in engineering colleges and institutes should be practical-oriented.

He questioned if the quality of education offered in India is enough.

Stressing the paradox, Sreedharan remarked while most engineering institutes are producing poor-quality graduates, the country's IITs and NITs are bringing forth the "best" ones.

He added that most of the IIT and NIT graduates make a beeline to go abroad for better opportunities.

He said some of them opt for a management degree, Information Technology degree, or other non-engineering courses.

Sreedharan, known for steering challenging projects like Delhi Metro and Konkan Railway, attributed the success of these projects to work ethics and values of a high standard.

He added success in the two projects was primarily possible due to the unique work culture.

He stressed the prime requisites of work are: integrity, punctuality, professional competence and a commitment to the society.

More than half of the Indian population falls under the age of 25; India is projected to be one of the youngest countries globally by 2020.

India faces the challenge of accommodating 14 million students on top of the currently-enrolled 26 million students for higher education.

3/4th (75%) of the students graduating from Indian institutions are not regarded as employable.

Failure to train the youth in skills essential for employment will lead to a "demographic explosion" in India, according to President Pranab Mukherjee.

On 25th October, 2016, Mukherjee interacted with the students of 'Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village and Samarpan Education and Research Campus.'

He also said that young, Indian talent "carries no baggage" and that the world belongs to them.