Vice President expresses anguish over disruptions in Parliament and State legislatures

The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today expressed his anguish over disruptions in Parliament and State Legislatures and called upon people’s representatives to act as “role models” in raising the standards in public life and setting an example to younger generation.

Speaking after presenting “Sir M Visvesvarya Memorial Award’ to Shri M R Jayaram, Chairman, M S Ramaiah Group of Institutions in Bengaluru, the Vice President, who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said that he was saddened by the “new low” witnessed in the Parliament recently as also in some legislatures, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Specifically referring to the recent unfortunate events in the Parliament, Shri Naidu said that he was sad because of the bad behaviour of some members.

Disapproving the disruptive behaviour of some MPs, Shri Naidu said that Assemblies and Parliament were meant to debate, discuss and decide and not disrupt. He said the people’s verdict must be respected in a democracy, while expressing dissent. “You can’t physically force anybody”, he added.

The Vice President wanted legislators at various levels in various positions to improve the quality of debate and discussion and expressed the hope that things would improve in the future.

By seeking inspiration from great people like Sir M Visvesvaraya, the Vice President urged the younger generation to come forward with new innovations and out-of-the-box ideas to accelerate the progress of the country. They should strive to eradicate poverty, remove regional disparities and build a strong nation while moving towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat, he added. He also called upon the youth to strive hard to excel in their chosen fields.

Paying rich tributes to Shri Visvesvaraya, he hailed him as the ‘legendary builder-engineer of modern India’. Recalling his contribution in designing iconic projects such as the Krishna Sagar Dam in Mysore and the flood protection system in Hyderabad, among others, the Vice President said that it is a tribute to his engineering genius that we celebrate his birth anniversary each year as ‘Engineers Day’.

The Vice President also recalled Shri Visvesvaraya’s vision as the Dewan of Mysore in founding many landmark institutions such as the Iron & Steel plant at Bhadravati, Mysore Soap Factory and Mysore Chamber of Commerce. Shri Visvesvaraya spearheaded the movement for industrialization in India, even before our Independence.

Referring to his multi-faceted personality, the Vice President said “Shri M. Visvesvaraya was an embodiment of the potential, aspirations and talent of a nascent, modern India”.

Conferring the ‘Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award’ on Dr. M. R. Jayaram, Chairman, MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions, Shri Naidu commended him for his dedication and hard work in transforming the M.S. Ramaiah Group of Institutions into a vibrant educational hub. He also complimented FKCCI for encouraging innovation and promoting industrial development in the state

The award ceremony was held in the Banquet Hall of Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru. The Governor of Karnataka, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri Basvaraj Bommai, Lok Sabha MP, Shri P C Mohan, President of FKCCI, Shri Perikal M Sundar and other dignitaries were present at the event.

Following is the full text of speech –

“Sisters & Brothers!

It is a great honour for me to be present at this award ceremony in memory of Shri M. Visvesvaraya, one of the most distinguished sons of India.

Bharat Ratna, ‘Father of Modern Mysore’ and legendary civil engineer, the multi-faceted Shri M. Visvesvaraya was an embodiment of the potential, aspirations and talent of a nascent, modern India. I feel humbled to be present on this occasion to pay my tributes and recall the illustrious service rendered by him as one of the foremost builders of our nation.

As an eminent engineer, Shri M. Visvesvaraya is credited with planning and implementing many iconic projects such as Krishna Sagar Dam in Mysore, designing a flood protection system in Hyderabad and working on the Visakhapatnam port to save it from erosion, among many major achievements. It is a wonder that even at the age of ninety, he continued to design and exhort governments to build dams on Indian rivers. It is a tribute to his engineering genius that we celebrate his birth anniversary each year as ‘Engineers Day’.

As the Chief Engineer of Mysore and later as the Dewan of Mysore, Sri M. Visvesvaraya was a great visionary and statesman and founded many landmark institutions and projects such as the Iron & Steel plant at Bhadravati, Mysore Soap Factory, State Bank of Mysore, among others. He even founded the trade body Mysore Chamber of Commerce which later evolved into this institution, the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

Right from his early days, we see in Shri M. Visvesvaraya a penchant for innovation and a great patriotic zeal to modernize India. He was a strong votary of science and technology and spearheaded the movement for industrialization in India, even before our Independence. As he famously said, while championing the cause of industrialization, “Industrialize or perish!”

Friends,

Shri M.Visvesvaraya was a genius of extraordinary caliber. This is reflected in his meticulous efforts to improve the efficiency of existing systems during his time—he designed, innovated and replicated with resounding success elsewhere. I wish to stress on this spirit of constant innovation in Sri M. Visvesvaraya that puts him in a league of his own and made him the legendary builder-engineer of modern India.

One instance of his inquisitive and innovative bent of mind is seen in his monumental work on water management in India. Motivated by his passion for water conservation, Shri M. Visvesvaraya designed and patented the system of automated weir floodgates, which was installed in Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune in 1903. These gates increased the reservoir’s storage capacity without risking damage to the dam. Their success was replicated elsewhere too—at Tigra dam, near Gwalior, and Krishna Raja Sagar dam, near Mysore. He designed or lent his professional advice on water supply systems in Aden (Yemen), Kolhapur, Indore, Gwalior, Bhopal, Nagpur, Goa, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Baroda, Sangli and across Bihar and Odisha. His contributions conserved a scarce natural resource like water and helped us harness its full potential for irrigation and power. It is said that Shri Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya had lent his know-how during the construction of the first ghat road to the shrine of Tirumala. As Shri Visvesvaraya with his vision, clearly proved, one man’s ingenuity can indeed change the course of a nation’s fortunes.

Friends,
This is the kind of entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that we need today as we strive to build a ‘New India’—as we try to put the mantra of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’ into action and improve the lives of the people and the economy. For this, we need to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in our youth from an early age. School education should take children on a voyage of discovery. The teaching-learning process must awaken and nurture curiosity in them through hands-on experiments on the lines of Atal Tinkering Labs. Colleges must have innovation hubs where students can test out their ideas by building prototypes. Similarly, companies too should invest more in R & D and encourage innovation in their employees.

Dear sisters and brothers,

The next few years are going to be very crucial, in terms of global cooperation and action to mitigate climate change. In this context, we need to think of ways to make our economies and lifestyles more sustainable. The way forward should be to do more with limited resources and go for what is referred to as a ‘circular economy’. In the context of climate change and development, I would say, ‘sustainability demands innovation’.

We need to come up with smarter ways to reduce our carbon footprint and cut and recycle our resources, with a sense of urgency. Institutions like the National Innovation Foundation, NITI Aayog and programmes like Atal Innovation Mission and Startup India have been working to improve the culture of innovation in India. Most importantly, we need to invest in our human potential—our biggest differentiator on the global stage.

Skill upgradation of our youth to make them conversant with latest technologies is the need of the hour. Government efforts in skill development have to be complemented with private initiatives of the industry.

Finally, I call upon our private sector and industry bodies like the FKCCI to join this national mission to foster innovation by identifying, encouraging, incubating and scaling innovations from the grassroots to make them commercially viable. This is critical in achieving Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

I am happy to note that as a result of such efforts in encouraging innovation, Karnataka retained its position as the most innovative state in the country in the ‘Major States’ category in the India Innovation Index 2020 released by NITI Aayog in January 2021. In this regard, I compliment the state government, industry leaders, and all the stakeholders involved.

Similarly, I am also pleased to note that the innovation ecosystem in India is improving over the years. In the Global Innovation Index (GII) published yearly by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India has been ranked as the 48^th most innovative nation in the world in 2020, entering the top 50 nations for the first time. We must aim to become one of the top ten global destinations for innovation in the near future.

Sisters and Brothers,

There is much to learn and emulate in the life of Shri Visvesvaraya for us. His ideas and entrepreneurial spirit were not only revolutionary during his time, but are of great relevance to India even in the current context. It is this drive that is motivating our scientists in organizations like DRDO, ISRO and the pharma industry to give their best and explore new frontiers in advanced fields like space or vaccine development. As a nation, we must stand by them through policy and moral support.

I am happy to note that, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), founded by Shri M. Visvesvaraya is encouraging innovation and has been promoting industrial development in the state for 105 years. I congratulate FKCCI for its role in not only promoting Trade & Industry, but also for taking up social causes such as organizing events like ‘Manthan’ to develop the spirit of entrepreneurship among the student community.

On this occasion, I am happy to note that the Award in memory of Shri M Visvesvaraya being conferred on Dr M. R. Jayaram, Chairman, MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions for his contribution in the area of education, health, industries, social and philanthropic activities. Dr M. R. Jayaram, with his dedication and hard work, has transformed the M.S. Ramaiah Group of Institutions into a vibrant educational hub with various institutions including engineering, medicine, nursing, dental, law and management.

Father of Dr M R Jayaram, late Shri Ramaiah should be a source of tremendous inspiration—having been forced to give up his education due to dire circumstances, he turned adversity into an opportunity and became a successful entrepreneur. Acutely aware of the importance of education in shaping an individual’s life, he established M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology in 1962. Subsequently, he set up a string of educational institutions imparting quality education in various streams.

Once again, I am happy to be here with you all today at the FKCCI Shri M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award Ceremony.

My best wishes to the state government and FKCCI in their endeavors to make Karnataka a top-performing state in the country in trade & industry, and to make the state a favored destination for investment. My best wishes to all the office-bearers and staff of FKCCI.

Thank you all once again.