AGRA: Chairman of the Tata Group, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, while receiving a honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) degree at a special virtual convocation ceremony of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Monday, said that every Indian must be provided a ‘minipad for life’, a smart device with data and connectivity allowing them access to education, health and upskilling, if India wants to go from $3 trillion to $12 trillion by 2031.
Chandrasekaran added that "India must use this decade – or techade, which is the right term for the country - to go from $3 trillion to $12 trillion by 2031.” “China really took off between 2000 and 2010 and went from being a US$1.2 trillion economy to a US$6 trillion one, driven by manufacturing. It did it in partnership with the USA. In this techade, India needs to use technology to triple its GDP from $3 trillion to $12 trillion by 2031," he said.
He added, “We need to create tech city clusters with connectivity, skill ecosystems and access to risk capital where Indian talent learns in India and transforms India. The country must focus now on modern technologies and data.”
Sydena Mufaddal Saifuddin, AMU chancellor, while congratulating Chandrasekaran and lauding the role played by the Tata Group, said that "a business can only be considered truly profitable if it is a means to improving the lives of others." The university's vice-chancellor, Tariq Mansoor, said that the university is “privileged to include Natarajan Chandrasekaran in the illustrious group of recipients of the honoris causa degree in the past, such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Dr CV Raman, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, prime ministers, presidents and kings of nations such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Germany, Iran and Egypt.”
