Students should take up entrepreneurship, and become job-providers to boost the growth of the country, said the Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.

At the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Central Research Facility (CRF) at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) on Tuesday, he said students from institutes such as NITs and IITs should think of starting-up on their own. The knowledge gained at such institutes should be put to better use and the students should be job-givers to society.

He said the government’s initiatives such as Make in India, Start-up India and Stand-up India will help the country to boost its growth prospects. Such initiatives will also help the country become a $5-trillion economy in the coming years.

Referring to the demographic dividend, the Minister said the country will remain young for the next 25-30 years providing good opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Urging people from other countries to come and study in India, he said it has already signed agreements with universities in different countries. As part of this, around 1,000 students from ASEAN countries will study in India, he said.

Umamaheshwara Rao, Director of NITK, said the CRF at the NITK campus will help with personnel, space, equipment and other things needed for research with funding from both external and internal sources. He said the CRF complements the academic mission of NITK.

Published on February 25, 2020